Fire Emblem Heroes: Zeroes to Heroes
by Tazio10
Summary: Transported to a new world, Tazio is tasked with becoming the Great Hero of Legend for the Order of Heroes. Startled, this fish-out-of-water does his best to fight, defend, and bond with the hundreds of characters from the Fire Emblem Universe he summons forth. Are you ready to be summoned to the battlefield?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: World of Zenith

I've lost my mind.

Gone! Poof! Out the window like the family cat when I got a puppy!

So, to keep what scraps of sanity I have remaining, I figured writing my experiences down would be a smart move. Maybe a record of my life on paper, (or a scroll, I guess,) will be better than the gibbering mess of spit and bulging eyes I'm sure I'm going to become.

Ok, let's set the ground work. I'm Tazio; odd name, sure, but my younger sibling is apparently named Kiran. I say sibling because I've never met them, and don't know their gender, so off to a good start there.

Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked.

I was having possibly the best day of my life. I was going up to win a lottery. A _lottery_! As I'm going up to collect the massive, glossy, glorious cheque, I suddenly felt dizzy, and collapsed. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel light radiating against my face, a light so powerful I thought I was being nuked or something.

The light faded, and I felt whistling wind, and the chirping of birds, for about two seconds. Then, my body collided with what I'd later find out was grass.

I still screamed out when I landed.

I wasn't hurt, more shocked than anything. I could remember feeling the grass, and the cool drops of morning dew soaking through my clothes. It all smelt fresh, earthly, untamed. Nothing like the astro-turf back home.

I head a girl talking at that point.

"Oooh?! You're actually here? Then the ritual actually worked…?"

I muttered a "Huh?" as I pushed myself up off the ground, opening my eyes, tears streaming down my face after the light. I finally noticed my arms.

I was in a pale-white cloak, with golden-stripes _materializing_ in Celtic-like patterns along my forearms. I wore dark coloured gloves, thick enough to stop the cold, but tight enough for me to feel anything I needed through them. I reached up to my face in confusion, and found a hood hanging over my head as well.

"I- Wha-?" I stammered, spinning around on the spot to check my entire body out now, afraid to find something else new, like a tail, or webbed feet.

If you're suddenly wondering why I'm writing things so detailed here, I was hoping to become an author in my old world. Thanks for prying. Moving on.

The girl cleared her throat, and I looked at her finally.

A young woman (I won't write down what I'd guess her age to be, in case she ever reads this…) stood before me. She wore a tunic of similar colouring to mine, pale-white with golden patterns along the stomach and chest. A large golden pauldron covered her left shoulder, covering feather-like fabric coming over her arm. A similarly designed gauntlet protected her left forearm as well, but her right arm appeared free of armour. A plain blue cape sat ragged against her back in the morning damp, limp and almost lifeless.

A strange neck-brace/ornament wrapped up from an emblem on her chest to a wing-like shape beside her head. She was obviously some kind of warrior, a knight maybe, I thought at the time.

I looked at her face. She had closed her eyes, but I could tell she looked pretty. She had the kind of face that made me think she winked a lot, and was quite coy. She had deep red hair tied off into a ponytail that trailed behind her cloak.

I was a strange mixture of surprised, scared, and aroused. I don't want to go into it more than that.

The knight-lady began a speech that sounded like she'd practised before. Her voice was as level as could be, and deep and serious sounding.

"O Great Hero from another world! Thou hast come far to fulfil your role in our legend!" She stopped, and raised her arms, opening her eyes, smiling slightly.

"For our kingdom stands on the very brink of ruin, and thou…!" Her smile faltered.

"And thou…" Her arms dropped to her sides, her shoulders sagging.

She must've seen the gapping mouth, popping eyes and general bewildered expression I had on my face. I was good at making that face. It must've been practise for that day, I suppose?

"Hold on, are you really our Great Hero?" She asked, her left hand on her hips, her right poking a finger to her chin in contemplation.

"Am I your _what_?" I asked as incredulously as possible.

"Hmmm, yeah, you don't look or sound like the 'thee-and-thou' type…" She confirmed, nodding her head while appraising me. I felt like she lingered on my lack-lustre arms for too long.

"Oh, really?! Well, _I_ have no idea what _you_ are supposed to be, or _where_ I'm supposed to be?! Imagine _my confusion_ , lady!" I screamed at her, gesturing with my arms, the robes flapping as I shook in anger.

The lady gave a sly smile. "Oh, you want to know where you are? Probably how you got here as well? That's fair enough. Well, you're in – "

She was cut off by the violent rustling of shrubbery to our left. I only just then noticed the large, stone dominating the background. I guess I was to confused by everything else to pick up on it.

Anyway, a man clad in navy and gold armour burst out into the clearing. He hefted a large, nasty looking axe in both arms, before he pointed straight at the girl.

"FOUND YOU!" He bellowed in a rough, accented voice. It sounded Nordic to me, but I'm not a linguist, so all bets are off for what he sounded like.

"Drat!" the lady shoved me backwards, making me fall on my backside. She raced off to an axe that lay against a tree to the right of the temple. She was surprisingly fast with all that armour on. "How did one of those Emblians get here already?" She gripped her axe, the silver blade glinting in the rising sun. "Oh, I guess it was the flash of light…" She mumbled loudly. She looked back at me and yelled, "Stand back! I'll take care of him, somehow!"

I was already pushing myself away from the open field, into the forest, my heart racing.

Then, the strangest thing happened.

You know, on top of being summoned to another world.

I looked out at the field, and could almost see all of it, like I was standing above it all. I could see the axe fighter beside the temple, and the knight girl a good five or six paces from him. The battlefield lay open to me to see, to plan and toy with…

I blinked and the 'vision' was gone. Anna carefully stepped out into the middle of the plain, he boots clicking against the worn stone covered in tufts of grass. She was just out of range of the fighter, even if he lunged at her.

The fighter stalked out onto the field now, his axe ready, his stance low and predatory, his feet moving him carefully forward.

The duellists began circling each other. The Emblian guy tried to spook the girl by feinting forward with his axe, or quick stepping to a side.

But the girl kept her cool. She smiled that coy smile, and stood tall, her shoulders straight, her axe held in front of her.

She attacked!

She charged at the fighter with a 'Yaaa!", her red eyes ablaze. She struck down a savage blow upon the fighter, her blade slamming into his shoulder. He growled and pushed the flat of his blade against his opponent, flinging her back a bit. He then retaliated, his axe chopping through the air for the warrior-ladies neck.

I watched this all, and could see it all happening in a strange, almost cinematic fashion. But, I could also see the fighter's strengths, weakness', and tactics. In a word, sloppy.

I saw the pattern of his swings, and shouted out "Left side, now!"

The girl smirked, dodged another swing, and put all her force into her next attack, swinging her weapon into the Emblian's left side.

The man croaked out a cry of pain as the head of the axe sank into his softer, clothed side.

And like that, he vanished.

There was no explosion of sparks, or the melancholy dispersion of glowing lights, like in a movie. He just faded away.

Kind of anti-climactic in my opinion, but I'm just the guy sitting on his butt on the sidelines, so…

The girl sighed once the fighter had vanished, and leaned onto her axe for support. After a moment of rest, she walked over to me. I'd pulled myself up off the floor, flicking mud off my white robes. I'd pulled my hood off as well.

"Thanks for that. I probably had him, but you saved me a lot of time and effort," She said, winking.

"Anytime…" I said without thinking, putting my fists to my hips.

"Now, I bet you want answers, huh?" the girl asked. I nodded, tapping my now booted foot to accentuate my desire.

"Well, my name's Anna! I'm the Commander of the Order of Heroes!" She said proudly, puffing her chest out. "We believe that Heroes should live free, in their own worlds. Our enemies, the Emblian Empire," She waved back to where the soldier had been, "Enslave them… Those fiends..." She spat.

I tried to put my hand up to slow her down and explain a bit more, but she was on a roll. And I'd seen her use that axe.

"Anyway, the realm we live in, Zenith, has gateways to other Worlds, the Worlds Heroes come from. Have you ever heard of the Worlds of Awakening? Birthright? Conquest? What about Revel- oh, wait, never mind that one!" She said with a girlish giggle, her finger to her chin again. It seemed to be her pose, of sorts.

I just narrowed my eyes and shook my head no, hoping she'd get on with it.

"And that's only a few! There are many more Worlds, and many, many more Heroes! The Emblians invade those Worlds and binds Heroes to serve them with magical contracts. We, as in the Order of Heroes, fight to free them! As you could see, that soldier was from the Emblian Empire. They're mounting a full scale invasion of my kingdom of Askr, their neighbour, and we're running out of resources, and most importantly, Heroes."

Anna sounded defeated now, her eyes dropping to stare at the floor.

"I was desperate for help…" She admitted, and turned back to look at the temple. Or was there something past it?

She looked back at me, grinning now. "So, I performed a summoning ceremony! And instead of a random, wea- ahem, low level Hero appearing, you appeared instead! Like out of the prophecy! Lucky us!"

"Yep, lucky you…" I said, scratching the side of my face, wincing.

"Oh, but we don't have time to rest. We have to go, now, if we're going to save my kingdom!" She said urgently, suddenly remembering something. She reached out and grabbed my arm, and began pulling me through the trees beside the temple.

"Woah, hey, stop!" I cried out to her, but she was strong, and my attempts to resist were futile.

"That was like, half an explanation, miss Anna!" I said after giving up, following her lead now.

"Yeah, ok, ok," Anna admitted without turning around to look at me. Her head moved side to side, peering through the forest shrubbery.

"First things first; I summoned you here with the divine Breidablik," she pulled an ornate silver and gold handgun like tool from out of a pouch on her belt.

"Bread-a-blak?" I tried to repeat back to her.

"No, 'breed-ah-blick'," she pronounced slowly for me. "Anyway, that's the name of this relic I brought with me. It fires something out of it, according to the legend, but it doesn't look like any bow I've ever seen…" She turned to look at it in detail, and turned the barrel up to her eye.

Fearing calamity, I reached out and snatched it from her grasp. "Best let the Great Hero hold the Legendary Relic, right?" I said quickly.

Anna arched an eyebrow, and shrugged.

I looked down at the tool. It was very much like a handgun from my world; with a long barrel, handgrip, trigger. It was kind of like a toy gun, one that fired pellets of darts, except this felt warm, had a historic aura to it, and was almost alive.

For a second, I thought it whispered to me, but I'm sure it was just my imagination.

"The legend also calls it 'the true key', which, if you raise it high, will summon the 'Great Hero' whom can fire it. That's what I did. And now, you're here!" Anna said cheerily. We walked out of the forest into a new clearing, filled with massive stone walls. "I guess it's all yours now. Hopefully you can figure out how to – "

"THERE SHE IS! GET HER!" came another Nordic bellow. In front of us was another Emblian soldier, also wielding an axe.

Actually, now that I think about it, he looked and sounded exactly like the first soldier… I wonder if they were related?

Anyway, Anna had immediately shielded me with an arm, her axe up.

"Damn! More of those Emblian Soldiers…" she cursed. We both saw another soldier peer around behind a short but sturdy looking wall, a bow in his gloved hands.

"Gaaah! I can't beat them all by myself… And you're not equipped, or ready, to help me…" she began muttering. She tilted her head to look back at me. "Go! You run while I hold them off! Take Breidablik and get out of here, Great Hero!" she ordered, shoving me down into a narrow gap between the tall, ancient walls. But the axe fighter had already charged, and was hurtling for me!

On instinct, I raised the Breidablik, and fired, just like I would a toy gun (all I've ever fired, I'm no gun-nut).

Some sort of energy erupted from the weapon, twisting and swirling multicoloured flashes of fire and light. It struck the fighter, sending him reeling back behind the wall. In the distance, a beam of light shot up into the lighting sky.

"What?! That light, is it coming from…?" Anna asked to herself.

A wave of white light erupted out of nowhere. I blinked, and in a second, my eyes had recovered. Only to blink again, surprised.

Standing where the soldier had just been was a new man. He was tall and thin, with well-maintained bluish-grey hair combed into neat rows down his narrow face. He was dressed in stylish, gentlemanly attire, with a cravat placed expertly on his breast.

"I am Virion," he announced, sounding vaguely French, or European at least. "Ze finest archer of ze fairest of realms! Delighted to be of service."

My lips floundered, like a fish's out of water.

He gripped a simple bow in his hand, and bounded over to stand next to Anna, his long legs taking him far.

"Hello, mon-cheri!" Virion said with as much charm as he could lay on. And he laid it on thick. "Would you enjoy my assistance in ze coming battle? Or maybe assistance in finding a rose as delicate and beautiful as yourself? Perhaps ze battle first, as ze rose would take a lifetime to find, no?" he said with a kind smile, and soft, small eyes.

Anna ignored him and looked at me.

"How'd you do that?! You were able to summon a Hero, just like that! You only just picked up Breidablik, but you're already able to use it?! That's amazing!" she exclaimed, arms wide.

I frowned. "He's a Hero?" I asked, pointing at Virion as he continued to smile, a little uncomfortably now.

"Ah, ze battle, mon-cheri?" he asked.

There was a groan beside the wall. I peeked around, and saw the soldiers pulling themselves up off the ground, shaking their heads.

"There's no time to chat about it now. Get to safety. This Virion and I need to get fighting!" Anna said, confidence returning to her. I nodded, and fled.

"Wee wee!" Virion confirmed, standing next to her, at the ready. "Er, you know how to do ze, ah, battling, no?" He asked suddenly.

I had snuck between a gap between some of the mighty walls and hid myself behind them, away from the archer.

I felt the feeling I'd had at the clearing before. My vision of the battlefield. And this time, I let it take control.

I could see over the walls and trees of the battlefield, and could see all the combatants. Anna stood ready, a grim smile on her face. Virion was grinning, giving short glances over at Anna, his bow ready with his first arrow notched.

I don't honestly know why I did, but I called out to my allies, using my vision of the world to help them push across their entrenched position.

"Anna move ahead one pace, Virion, move next to her!" I ordered. They both moved up, Anna crying "Onward!" as she moved, her axe held high; Virion said "Very well,". He isn't that exciting, truth be told.

Anna had blocked the entrance to the walled off alcove they were sitting in. The Emblians had to come straight at her, but I knew she was tough enough to take them.

The soldiers, after recovering, attacked now. The axe fighter took Anna on, grinding his weapon against the wall as he charged a second time.

He swung low, but Anna hopped over him, and smashed her elbow on the axe fighters helmeted noggin. He roared out, and slammed the flat end of his axe into Anna's side, making her wince.

Virion reacted now, and swiftly placed an arrow in the fighter's shoulder, sending him spiralling away, only to vanish, much like the first fighter.

The archer fired at Anna now, having rounded past the first wall. The arrow landed in her left shoulder, making her gasp in pain.

"M'lady!" Virion called out in concern.

Anna gritted her teeth, snapped the wooden arrow shaft, and raced at the archer as he readied another arrow.

She cried out in excitement, and I could sense an aura of extra power flowing out of her. "Time to show the Summoner my real power, with Night Sky!"

She pounced on the poor little Emblian. "We will triumph!" she called out as she swung her axe into her foe with frightening speed, slashing and smashing him with a flurry of four attacks. I'm gonna say four, because that's what I counted, but it could have easily been more. It was that fast.

The archer faded as well. I couldn't help but grin this time. I caught myself, and put on my annoyed face again. I was here against my will.

I came back around to my allies. Virion came up to Anna, laughing heartily, and gave her a pat on the back. She winced, grabbing at her arrow wound.

She turned and saw the concerned look Virion and I had. "Don't worry, this uniform slowly heals us. But hey, we won!" She exclaimed, standing up straight. I could see the arrowhead slowly being pushed out of her wound as she spoke.

"And it was all thanks to you, Summoner!"

"And me, no, mon-ami?" Virion asked expectantly.

"Yeah, you fought well, Virion," Anna said with a big smile.

Virion clutched at his heart, "Oh, your words, like arrows to fuel my admiration!"

Anna looked at me. "You know, I never asked your name, Summoner?" She said, her finger back up in her pose.

"No, we got a little excited, didn't we? Well, I'm Tazio," I said after a brief time of thinking about if I should reveal my name.

"Well, Great Hero Tazio, thank you! You know, none of us in the Order of Heroes can actually summon Heroes, except with certain ceremonies, and they aren't that good, honestly," she said, turning to leave the area.

"Glad I'm a useful Hero then," I said with a shrug. I could feel my cheeks prickling with heat.

"Ha!" Anna exclaimed all of a sudden, putting a gloved hand on my shoulder. "I should never have doubted for a second that you were the Great Hero! You're going to be the one to save our kingdom!"

"Well, no pressure then…" I grumbled, smile gone.

Anna pulled ahead of me, a serious smile on now.

How do I know what all these smiles look like? Guess these Heroes telegraph themselves well…

"Tazio. Our Order is small, but Summoner, I welcome you into our ranks. Please, help us find more Heroes to assist us. Now that you're here, I know we'll win the fight against the Empire!" she said solemnly.

I sheepishly smiled. "Yeah, thanks…"

We took off again, into the bush again. Virion was chattering away at Anna, who nicely smiled and nodded to him. We came to another clearing before too long, and Anna, looked back at me.

"Ok, I have to ask, how'd you get it to work?" she asked expectantly, her eyes greedily looking at the relic.

"Oh, that was easy, I just aimed, and pull the trigger," I said, aiming out into the clearing, and mimicking the movements again.

Once again, bolts of energy blasted out of the Breidablik, and a flash of light in the distance signalled a wave of light.

Once I'd cleared my eyes, a young man in simple, ragged clothes stood before me. He had a boyish smile, kind eyes, and ruffled red hair.

"The name's Matthew. I'm in the service of the young master – I mean, milord – Hector. Good to meet you."

"Wooah!" Virion and Anna said in unison.

"Hi Matt, nice to meet you too, I'm the Great Hero Tazio" I say cheerily. "Hey do you mind if you come over here for a moment?" I say, waving him over.

"Ok, sounds fine to me, Great Hero," Matthew said with the raising of an eyebrow.

"Ready for another Hero?" I asked, looking back at my new entourage.

I gripped Breidablik in both hands, and squeezed the trigger again, expecting the light show this time.

This time a young boy stood before us, with lush green hair (I know, weird, right?), midnight green robes, and a dark scowl on his face. He held a heavy looking boom under one arm.

"I am trying to learn the deepest secrets of the dark arts!" the boy announced, his voice as mysterious sounding as he could make it.

I stifled a laugh. "Got a name there, mister Edgy?"

The boy huffed. "If you must know… It's Raigh," he said, crossing his arms and turning his head away from me.

"Ok, alright Dark Child, step aside, I've got Heroes to summon!" I commanded. Raigh groaned and stepped over to stand beside the others.

"Do you know someone called Nino?" Matthew asked the boy as he came close.

The boy blanked, colour draining from his already pale face. "N-no, never! Why do you ask?"

"Oh, you just look like a girl I work with in my world, is all. I wondered if you were related…" Matthew said smoothly.

"You work with…?" Raigh muttered.

"Ok, another Hero, fresh and hot, coming up!" I called out behind me.

I pulled the trigger, my smile wide.

My smile began to droop.

I pulled the trigger again.

My smile sagged.

I pulled on the trigger three times in a row.

My smile dropped.

"Hey, what gives? It run out of batteries or something?" I asked, turning back to Anna.

"I don't know what you mean, but I guess whatever it used has run out, so if we can figure out wha- hey!" Anna grabbed at a pouch that sagged empty on her belt.

"Where'd all my orbs go?!"

After Anna stopped crying, (largely in part to Virion's cravat being used as a handkerchief) we set out again. The trees began to thin, and we were on a simple dirt road, winding through lush hills.

"Hey, Anna, where are you taking us?" I asked after what felt like an hour of walking. My soles were starting to feel the pain of an extended stay in hard leather boots.

"We're going to the port of Askr, where the Prince, and an Order Member, is, fighting Emblians. Now that we've got some new Heroes, we're going to reinforce them!" Anna said, raising her axe in triumph.

"Oh… more battles where I risk life and limb…" I said under my breath.

"Do you Order guys ever not fight?" I ask after a bit.

"Well, we do head out to some festival competitions when they're around, but we haven't won any of them for awhile now…" Anna said, finger up. "Hey, maybe that'll change next festival with you here, Tazio!"

"I'm not a miracle worker, Anna…"

"No, but you seem like a capable strategist. You'll be very helpful around here!" She said with a wink.

"I thought you were the Commander?" I said, pointing at her.

"Yep, and I command you to be our tactician."

I groaned, and fell back to talk to the Heroes.

"Alright fellas, tell me about yourselves. Where're you from, what're you good at, etc." I said, arms behind my head.

Virion spoke up first; "I am but a wandering gentleman, seeking ze hand of a radiant beauty. As you saw previously, my art is ze bow, my canvas; ze enemy,"

"Ok, Casanova, settle down. Matty, what about you?"

"You want to know the real Matthew? Ha!" He said loudly. He leaned in close to me. Quiet now. "Let's take it slow,"

I will admit, a shiver went down my spine as I looked at his big brown eyes, staring into mine.

"I'll give you half-truths instead of lies," he said, looking ahead once more.

I let out the breath of air I suddenly realised I'd been holding and scratched at the side of my head, feeling flustered and confused.

"Erm, Raigh, what about yourself?" I asked, looking back at the youth behind us.

His head was down, and he was muttering to himself. I couldn't hear him, but it sounded serious.

I reached back and poked his forehead. He looked up, grimacing.

"What is it?" he barked at me.

"I'm wondering what your deal is, kid. Besides muttering behind us,"

"What my 'deal' is? I shall master the dark arts!" Raigh said, raising his tomb to the heavens. "Even if I must destroy a world, or three, to do it!"

Matthew and I chuckled at the kid's conviction.

"What?!" An incredulous Raigh asked, "I'm serious!"

"Sure, sure, but why the dark arts? Any reason why?" I said, looking back at him with a grin.

Raigh slowed for a moment, lost in thought, before he answered. "You can't do anything without power. Including… protecting those whom you _must_ protect…" He was quiet for a moment. I glanced over at Matthew, who only shrugged. Virion was chatting up Anna again.

Raigh looked up and pointed an accusatory finger at me. "So that's why I must master the dark arts! At any cost!"

"Ok, ok, dark arts master in the making, gotcha!" I said, palms raised between him and I.

"And don't you forget it!" Raigh said, pointing his nose up at us, his book tucked under his arm again.

"Righto!" I said as I turned around again, shaking my head.

They were all crazy!

"Ok, we're nearly there, let's hustle!" Anna called out suddenly.

I could smell the sea salt on the air now, and could hear the seagulls and crashing waves.

As well as clashing metal on metal, and battle calls.

Anna broke into a jog, axe in both hands. Virion well into step behind her, then Matthew fell in. He moved so quietly, and quickly!

Raigh and I were in the back, our bodies used to sitting and studying/writing than physical labour. I panted while he wheezed. It was a symphony of exhaustion.

We rushed through the walled off fishing village, and past the flocks of villagers retreating into the shops and homes lining the streets. Past them were the various docks connected to the small islets within the cove. In the cove sat three small troop ships with dark sails. One of them was slowly sinking, fire spreading across the sails and deck.

"Commander Anna!" A voice called out ahead. Anna stopped next to the young man, who wore similar apparel to Anna, including the strange wing neck thingy. He had deep blue hair (Have I stepped into an anime?), with golden tips along the edge, a kind but serious face.

"You're alright! Wait, who are these people with you? And who's that? Could it be…?" He asked as the Heroes fell in behind Anna. Raigh and I finally caught up, panting and sucking in air.

We ran something like 200 meters. Man, I'm out of shape…

"It is, Prince Alfonse! The legend is true!" Anna said excitedly. "I raised Breidablik, and then Tazio appeared! Our Great Hero is here!" She said proudly presenting me.

"Hey," I said with a small wave between huffs, "Wazzup?"

"Um… And he can use the divine weapon too!" Anna pressed on. "As for what Breidablik shoots? It's truly wonderful… It fires Heroes right out of it!"

I raised the divine relic at the golden prince. "Pew pew," I said with a goofy grin.

"Unbelievable…" He said, looking down at me with wide eyes, "So you're our Great Hero, come to us from another world?"

"Yep, it's what everyone keeps telling me," I said, standing up straight now, rolling my shoulders.

"Great Hero Tazio. I am Alfonse, Prince of Askr and Member of the Order of Heroes. It is a true pleasure to meet you." He said, offering his hand to me. I took it, and he held it firmly, shaking mine.

"I'm so sorry to ask this of you so soon after we've met, but I have need of your help. Our order is devoted to fighting the Emblian Empire, which invades the worlds Heroes come from." The Prince said solemnly. Still shaking my hand…

"Oh, yeah, Anna explained that bit," I said, jerking a thumb in her direction. "She didn't bring up how I can get back home though, so…"

"Hmm, we'll discuss that later, I'm afraid. But for now, I have dire news. One of the worlds the Heroes come from is the World of Mystery, and the Empire has newly taken over it. We have to make our way to the World of Mystery to free it!" Alfonse said, gripping my hand tighter and tighter as he spoke.

"Ow, ow, dude, dude! Please let go of my hand!" I yowled. He let go. I felt like my hand would swell to twice its size…

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I can get… intense… when I think about the Empire taking over other Worlds…" Alfonse admitted, nervously rubbing his neck.

"Sure, but what about this port? Aren't we defending this place?" I asked, looking out at the remaining troop ships. I just noticed they were turning and heading out of the cove.

"Yes, we will need assistance cleaning the remnants of this rabble out, but we must make haste to the World of Mystery after. All we've done here would have been for naught if the Empire replenish their numbers within that world," Alfonse explained.

"Wait, replenish?" I asked.

"We in the Order believe that Heroes in those worlds are bound into contracts to serve the Empire. But weaker, less heroic individuals are converted into mindless fighters to fill the Emblian Army. We have no proof, but many have suspected this to be true for a while now," Alfonse detailed, his face grim.

"Geez…" I said, thinking back to the soldiers we fought in the forest.

Alfonse looked to Anna again. "And, Commander Anna, there is one more thing. I spotted someone odd with the soldiers attacking here. A strange man upon a horse. Not an imperial soldier, nor a Hero from the World of Mystery now under their control."

Anna put her finger up. I'll stop mentioning the finger now…

"A strange man, you say? Did he seem allied with the Emblian Empire?"

"I don't know. I've never seen him before. He wears a mask and keeps his face a secret even from them," the Prince detailed.

There was a cry behind Alfonse. He turned, and we saw several soldiers rushing to our position from across bridges.

"Blast! We must rush into battle, as soldiers approach!" Alfonse called. He raised his sword, and prepared his position.

"Oh, yeah, thanks for telling me they're coming!" I called out after him. "Prince Obvious…" I said under my breath.

"Tazio, come! Your tactical assistance would be greatly appreciated!" Anna said as she ran to meet Alfonse on the field.

"Ok, sure, if it gets me home quicker. Alright boys, who's ready?" I said, turning around to face them.

Only Raigh stood behind me, leaning against a stall filled with iced trouts. His head was in his book.

I spun and saw Matthew and Virion in position behind the two Order members, ready to go.

"Raigh, stay here, alright?" I ordered as I hurried out as well. No response from the gloomy boy. I rolled my eyes.

I stepped onto the field, and my vision exploded up into the sky. I was looking at the battlefield again.

I wonder how much of a battlefield I can view? Sorry, random thought, let's carry on.

It seemed only three of the Emblian soldiers were left. Each soldier was coming from a different islet, and each had a different weapon; from the north was a spear wielding soldier, to our east was a sword fighter, and in the south-east was another axe fighter.

Who also looked like the other axe-fighters we'd fought. I guess they're all clones from captured worlds. Kinda sad when I think about it. They've got no identity to speak of, except the weapon they bring into battle.

Ah, I'm sidetracking myself again.

The fight was simple after Alfonse briefly explained how certain weapons were more effective against certain weapons. They call it the 'weapon triangle'. It's kind of like paper-scissors-rock, but with blades.

So it's more fun.

Swords trump axes, axes smash lance, and lances, well, you can finish this one off.

With my newly acquired knowledge, I was able to position Anna in front of the oncoming lance soldier, whose weapon she deftly splintered with a swing of her axe.

Alfonse moved south to take on the axe fighter as he came over a bridge. Alfonse was strong, and capable, it seemed. The Prince was able to block the swing of the axe with his simple, but sturdy, sword, locking the head of the weapon in place. With a kick to the knee, the soldier fell to the ground, where a slash ended his, (it's?) existence.

I had Virion and Matthew lay a trap for the sword fighter. Once the soldier had braved enough courage to get onto the bridge, I had Matthew dart across the entrance, a knife flying straight into the warriors side.

He bellowed in pain, and I could see he (wait, it? I need to pick a pronoun…) was weakened.

As in, I could see the clone's attributes decrease. Like I was in a video game, or role-playing game.

Anyway, Virion finished the weakened sword-holder with two quick arrow shots to the chest.

The Heroes returned to the mouth of the town, tired, but safe.

"Thank you, Great Hero, for your assistance today," Alfonse said as he walked up to me.

"No problem, but Tazio is fine," I replied, rubbing the back of my head.

"Hmmm…?" Alfonse reacted to something behind me.

I swivelled, and saw a tanned man with pale hair, a black and gold mask over his eyes, and black and gold robes sporting a magnificent cape and black-feather styled collar.

He was hella stylish. Hey, how come my magic robes aren't as cool? I've just got a hoodie!

The man seemed to be staring at us, the milky white eyes under his mask looking… furious, is all I can say.

"Who are you, stranger?" Anna called out to the man. He paid her no mind, staring at me directly. His lips curled briefly. A chill fled down my back.

"Alfonse, this must be the masked man you were talking about, right?" she breathed behind us. Alfonse slowly nodded, his eyes narrowed. He was hardly breathing.

He licked his lips before he said, "You! Tell us – are you a soldier in the Emblian Empire?"

The masked man turned to look at Alfonse. The smirk was replaced with a sneer.

"If so, you stand on the side of evil. Your Empire shouldn't be entering the Worlds of Heroes – let alone conquering them!" Alfonse called out. I looked down and saw his sword hand shaking.

The man spoke suddenly. He was quiet, but contempt dripped out of every word he spoke. Waves of ice seemed to be spilling down my back as he spoke.

I thought the ASL thing was over with…

"Oh really? And I suppose you want us to close the gateways too? Hmpf. In your dreams…"

He turned on his heels, and stalked out of the town, his cape billowing.

"Raigh, watch out!" I cried out as I saw the mystery man power past the empty stalls.

The verdant-haired boy peeked up out of his book as the man went by. He stopped to stare down at the youth.

"Bah… Heroes…" He left the boy, only to hop upon a mount in a single bound.

"How dare you!" cried Alfonse as he belted down the town, hot on the mans trail. "Where are you going? Get back here and answer for yourself! Hey?!"

He reached out to grab at the mans shins, but with a 'yaa!', the steed, and its rider, bolted out of the port town.

"Damned fellow…" Alfonse growled. He threw his sword to the ground with a clatter.

I went up to Raigh.

"Hey, you ok, lil buddy?"

He turned to be. His eyes were massive, and staring.

For about a second, then he blinked, and he sneered, a bit like the masked man (I need to get him a nickname… Lawrence? Bob? I'll start with Bob…).

"What would a master of the Dark Arts have to be afraid of that fool for?"

"Good thing I don't worry about you," I muttered, walking over to Alfonse, my arms crossed.

"What did he mean by 'want us to close the gateways'?" I asked the man as he looked out in the direction Bob had speed off to.

"Those gateways he mentioned, Tazio…" Anna said, coming to pick the sword up. "They connect our world to all those where Heroes live. The royalty of the Askr Kingdom, like Alfonse, have the ability to open these gateways." She said, explaining.

"And the _royalty_ of the Emblian Empire are able to close the gateways," Alfonse added, turning to join the conversation. "Long ago, our two families worked together in harmony to open and close these ways into other worlds. But then Embla began using its power for evil, leaving all of the gates open. The Empire began invading other worlds, and we cannot slam the gates shut." He uttered each word as if to close gateways with them. "Only _they_ can…"

Alfonse kicked idly at a pebble. It just rolled over, doing nothing.

"But…" Anna began, looking over at me. "We can fight them! That's why we Askrans formed the Order of Heroes – to stop the Emblians!"

She put her hands to her hips, smiling at us, the gathered Heroes.

"Now, let's hurry to the World of Mystery. Alfonse, your sister… she was on a scouting mission there. I fear she may be in danger." Anna said

Alfonse perked up a little.

"Now come, we should be able to charter a boat to the isle the gateway's on."

She waved us back to the port. Virion and Matthew were right behind her, with Raigh behind them.

"Hey, uh, Al… Can I call you Al?" I said as I hung back with him.

"Yes, I suppose…" He said, looking ahead.

"That guy really rattled your cage. You wanna talk about it?" I said, peering over at his face.

"He looked so… familiar - but… Never mind. No, I'm just annoyed by the Order's lot in life. Running around behind the Empire. Always on the back heel."

"You'd prefer to be the one to attack?" I asked.

"Only to bring peace to Zenith!" Alfonse protested, turning to me. In the sunlight, the small crown nestled in his hair looked like… angelic wings of gold…

"But you can't, if they've got legions of cloned soldiers taken from all the Worlds they've taken. Worlds they can keep going to for more soldiers, no mater how many your Order cuts down," I said slowly, putting the pieces together.

"Exactly." We stepped onto the small wooden boat Anna had procured quickly after a heated bartering argument.

"Well, stress less, Al!" I said. I held my Breidablik high. "We'll have a legion of Heroes, enough to guard each World we take back!" I said triumphantly.

"Hmmm," Alfonse said, looking up at the exotic gun, crossing his arms. "Maybe…"

"Hey, Tazio!" Anna called out to me as the ship was pushed out into the cove.

"Sup?" I said as I strolled over.

"Look what I found!" she said, excitement on the tip of her tongue.

"A new orb!" she said as she presented a small, solid looking… well, orb.

"So this is what you had in your purse?" I asked, taking hold of it. A multitude of colours flashed across the surface as the sun illuminated it. It was about the size of a regular old apple.

"Yeah! We find them all over the place, but they're kind of rare. We couldn't actually do anything with them back home, but I liked to hoard any we found on missions, because I know a crazy collector who pays top gold for them," the cheerful redhead explained.

"You're a thrifty one, ain't ya?" I said, handing the orb back to her. "You would have been a great Scout."

"Oh, no, you hold onto it now." Anna said as she pushed the orb away. "They work for your Breidablik, and that tool is more important than our coffers… well…" she seemed to be changing her mind, reaching out for the orb, a finger creeping up to her mouth.

"Nope, you said it was mine!" I said, pulling the precious thing away from her.

"Ok, ok, I was just teasing!" Anna said, laughing.

The rest of the cruise was largely uneventful. The sailor's daughter quietly excused herself from Virion the first second she got. Matthew wasn't seen from all trip, while Raigh found the darkest part of the deck of the boat to read in, hunched over his book. I think it was a different one to the first tomb he had.

We came upon a small island within view of the coast. A small collection of trees were spread out on the rocky island, but it wasn't like it was a forest or anything.

On a hill at the back of the island, stood a large stone arch, decorated in more of the Celtic line art that this continent seemed to love.

"Ok, Raigh, you're fighting with us this time," I ordered the boy as he followed behind us.

"I would have fought in the other battle, had you asked," the dark magician replied coolly.

"I did ask, you little snot!" I said, fists forming.

"Hmmm…" He mumbled.

"Virion, Matthew, guard the entrance, this kid's gotta earn his keep!" I commanded, grabbing the kid by the scruff of his dark cloak.

"Hey, hey, let go of me you - you ruffian! I shall destroy you; make you but ash!" he hollered, dragging his feet and beating his hands on my chest.

"Oooh…" Anna said as I walked through the gateway, thinking I couldn't hear her. "A take charge guy… very nice…"

"Commander…" Alfonse groaned as he hurried behind me.

"What? I just like a no-nonsense tactician!" Anna protested on his heels.

Virion and Matthew looked at our vanishing forms as we walked into a mist within the gateway. I later found out they had a brief discussion that went something like this;

"Do you think ze Commander will be ok wizout us? I pray she does not befall ill fortune wizout me," Virion said, a hand over his heart.

"You do know I know that's a fake accent, right?" Matthew stated.

"Ahh… It shall be our little secret, no?"

"… Got any figures we can discuss…"

"Zut alores…"

After passing through the mist, we came to a mountain range dotted with clumps of trees. The air was fresh, but a little dry. And I guess it was a little hot, but it was an otherwise lovely place.

I let go of the ignorant child, and looked around. Anna and Alfonse caught up.

"Which way do we go?" I asked.

"Commander Anna! Brother!" A piercing cry filled the air. I winced, and looked up at a nearby, small cliff top.

Waving from the top was a blonde haired, ponytailed girl waving frantically at us. A lance was tucked under an arm as well.

She bounded down the cliff side, screeching to a stop amongst a shower of loose rocks and dirt, her arms pinwheeling to stop herself from toppling over. Once standing safely, she straightened up, looked at us, and put a hand to her hip.

"What has taken you so long to get to the World of Mystery?" she asked with a silly smile.

Alfonse's sister (I assumed) had an outfit much like Anna and Alfonse's; white tunic, golden designs, golden armour around the arm, legs and shoulder, and she bore the wing-neck ornament.

I hope I don't have to wear one now that I'm in the Order…

She had golden-blonde hair. It seemed to radiate light, but I'm sure it was just an illusion, and my mind messing with me. It was just her personality.

The girl had golden eyes, braids running through her hair, a cute, rounded face, and a massive smile.

She sounded just like her hair was coloured; honey-sweet, and loud. People would either find her loud and annoying, or energetic and adorable.

I was in the latter camp.

"Sorry, Sharena. We had to battle our way here," Alfonse explained.

"Oh, that explains why you were so slow!" she said, bumping her shoulder against her brothers, the smile getting even bigger, if you can believe it.

Her eyes widened as she took Raigh and I in, leaning in close. "Who's this with you?" She spotted the Breidablik in my hand. "Oh my!"

She stood up ram-rod straight. "You're holding the divine relic… and it's all aglow!" She raised her hands to her mouth, dropping her lance. "Are you…the Great Hero?" she whispered.

I nodded once.

"Ahhhhh!" the girl squealed.

At that point, I felt like changing my opinion on her voice… (Please don't read this Sharena!)

The bubbly girl rushed me, and pulled me into a massive hug, her arms wrapped surprisingly tightly around my whole body, my arms being crushed against my sides.

"Our group has hoped beyond hope that you might come save us!" she cried into my shoulder, spinning me around with little hops.

"Sharena!" Alfonse grabbed the bouncing girl. "Please, calm yourself!"

"Oh, right!" Sharena disengaged her arms from me. I gasped some air in. "Sorry!" she said, hands behind her back, wincing.

"This is Tazio," Alfonse announced. I was rubbing my poor ribs, feeling for any breakages. "As it turns out, the Great Hero is a talented tactician as well. We're already in good hands."

"Ohhh… that's amazing!" Sharena said, eyes wide in admiration as she looked at me. I have to say, I felt just a tad more uncomfortable now than when she was killing me.

She then looked down at Raigh. "And who are you, cutey?"

The furious teenager looked up at the girl, eyes blazing. "If you must know, I am Raig. But never, _ever_ call me cute, ever again, lest I reduce you to dust on the wind!"

"Awwww!" Sharena ducked down to pat the boy on the head. "Aren't you just adorable! Is he a Hero?"

"Still figuring that part out, actually…" I said with a shrug. Raigh gave a 'humph!' and looked back at his book.

Sharena stood and put her hands to her hips. "Great Hero, you're already as great as I imagined! I'm going to be your number-one fan. Oh!" she realised something. "My manners have gone right out the window. I'm Sharena, Alfonse's darling little sister!" she ran up behind her brother, and hugged his left arm under her chin. The Prince rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same.

What an adorable family they are, I thought. With a pang of regret. Ehhh, forget I wrote that part…

Anna stepped in now. "All right, all right… Just tell us, what's the situation here?"

Sharena let go of her brother, and stood at attention with a salute.

"Simply put? Absolutely dreadful."

There went the sunshine…

"The Empire has taken control of a Hero from the World of Mystery. She swoops through the skies near here. She's a fearsome figure, all in red," the Princess reported.

"A red flier from Mystery? That could only be… yes, it sounds like Princess Minerva," Alfonse confirmed after a moment of thought.

"My brother here has memorised all the Heroes that live in each world. He's like a Heroes Encyclopedia!" Sharena whispered loudly to me.

"I have not memorised all the Heroes!" Alfonse barked at his sister. "Just the ones from Mystery! And… Awakening, Blazing, Binding, Radiance, Conq- erm, never mind…" he said quietly.

"Still!" He regained composure. "This battle will be tough. We should bring a Hero who's an archer, or perhaps…"

There was a blood-curdling roar as a beast came over the mountains before us. It beat its leathery wings above us all, it's eye glowing a hot orange as it peered down at us. It wielded thick, muscular legs adorned with black, glinting claws, and a long, powerful tail lined with spines.

I can admit here that I was both terrified and in wonder as the beast snapped it's square, reptilian snout at us, it's forked tongue darting out to hiss once it was pulled up to hover.

Pulling herself upright atop the beat was a stern looking woman with red hair, ornate, crimson red armour across her whole body, bearing wing-like shoulder pauldrons. She gripped a huge, heavy looking double-bladed black axe effortlessly in one hand. She aimed it down at us as she stood tall on her mount.

"Begone, outsiders! I am Minerva, Princess of Macedon. I will only warn you once – return to your world. Now."

She didn't shout. She didn't bellow. She stated each fact calmly, with conviction, till they settled into our ears like weights.

I'm not sure how I managed to speak, now that I think about it, but I was able to squeak out, in the dirt, "Why?"

"I am now bound to serve the Emblian Empire, and the Imperial Princess, Veronica, has given me an order. She has commanded that I attack a kingdom near her Empire. As such, I have no time for the likes of you," the red Princess said. She wasn't gloating, or overstating her power. It would simply be inconvenient if she had to deal with us…

Alfonse spoke out to the dragon rider (I later found out they're actually called wyverns, but, eh?).

"Princess Minerva!" the monarch looked over to the boy. "Please, hear me out! I am Prince Alfonse, of the kingdom you plan to attack. I beg you, please, put down your weapons. We of Askr have no desire to battle you noble Heroes." As he said this, the young Prince planted his swords tip into the ground, his hands over the pommel.

Minerva narrowed her eyes briefly.

"I am under contract to obey Princess Veronica," she said.

Alfonse groaned, and gripped the swords handle.

"However,"

We all looked up at the fearsome fighter.

"There is only one way to release me." She pointed at us with her powerful axe once more, a smirk on her lips. "Prove you are stronger."

"Must we resolve this with a battle, Princess Minerva?" Alfonse pleaded.

But the warrior-princess had already seated herself, and was flying away, to prepare for the battle.

"Prince Alfonse! She has named her terms. We must fight - and win!" Anna ordered her troops, and hand on his shoulder. The boy was look at his sword again. He finally pulled it up, at the ready.

"Everyone, prepare for battle!" The Commander cried out.

We all hustled around the mountain range, and lined up, looking at a worn, crumbling wall. I waited behind the four heroes, out of the line of fire.

I briefly saw Sharena reach over and put a hand to Alfonse's shoulder, smiling sadly.

"You tried, big brother. Don't worry, I'm sure we will be friends with them soon enough, now that the Great Hero's here!"

Alfonse shrugged his sisters hand off him.

"That wasn't the problem…"

"Here they come!" Anna cried out, her legs spread, axe low.

I focused, closed my eyes, and viewed the battlefield.

In the south-east corner, Minerva was flying towards us. Next to her were to ladies on Pegasus, one green haired young lady holding a brilliant red sword, and a blue haired girl with a long, wicked lance.

I'm just going to take a moment here to say this; the animals here are fantastic! For years, I've lived on fairy tales of Pegasus, unicorns, dragons and other magical beings, and now, I get to have an army of them! Mind you, they're all owned by their Heroes, but still, I get to own freaking dragons!

A young girl in a white dress and with a simple staff was idly standing by behind the walls in front of us, picking up flowers in the grotto she was playing in. She had bright red hair, the same luscious colour as Minerva's. At the time I wondered if they were related.

I relayed the troop descriptions to my Heroes, and Alfonse immediately told me who the Heroes were. In detail.

The red sword flier was Palla, and the lance flier was her younger sister, Catria. There was a third younger sister, apparently, but she wasn't here. The little girl was Maria, Minerva's sister, and was a cleric, who used her little staff to heal her allies.

I looked at the surrounding mountain ranges. The fliers had no problem getting around them, and so going through the grotto Maria was in wasn't going to help us.

However, if it looked like we were…

"Raigh, can your magic blast that wall away?" I asked the boy.

He gripped his tome, and smirked. He held it flat in his palm, and began reading, speaking in a strange, lyrical language, his eyes focused and held fast to the dusty mound of brick before him.

With a shout of "Rauohrwolf!" (Apparently there's a little runic symbol I can write, but it sounded like that, so it's what I'm writing down.)

At his command, a fiery wolf shape materialised and ran headlong into the wall, howling, smashing one side into splinters of rock and dust.

"Woah!" I exploded after his attack. "That looked so cool!"

The boy just looked at me. Smug.

I looked back at the battlefield. Minerva and the Whitewing sisters, as Alfonse had called them, were flying in formation to us. Fast.

I got Sharena to stand on the outside, ready to intercept Palla, while Anna readied to strike down Catria as the flier lunged down for her.

I had Alfonse stand next to Raigh, the two of them ready to strike Minerva down in a double hit.

Looking at the battlefield once more, I saw Minerva had broken off from the Whitewings, and was hovering next to Maria, her gaze sweeping around the grotto, axe ready.

I was briefly befuddled, until Anna and Sharena entered battle.

Sharena was attacked first, with Palla diving low, leaning out of her saddle to swing her sword at Sharena. The golden Princess was able to block the attack with her lance held upright, the metal pole scrapping against the ruby blade, harmlessly skimming up into the sky over Sharena's head.

The Princess retaliated with a twirl of her lance into a two-handed grip, which she used to jab into the passing pegasus' right wing.

The animal whinnied in fright and confusion before being calmed quickly by its skilled rider.

But Sharena wasn't done. She followed the wounded animal, leaped, lunged forward, and thrust with a single hand her lance into the retreating Palla. The tip entered the ladies back, and she cried in confusion and pain, fading away with her mount.

Anna had met her opponent at the same time. The younger Whitewing attacked at the Order's Commander, thrusting her lance downwards.

But in the girl's haste, she overextended, letting Anna reach up and yank the girl down off her steed by her weapon. Catria yelped as she collapsed elbows first into the grass.

Anna quickly pulled the weapon out of her grasp, throwing it behind her, and with a 'sorry,' she swung her axe mercilessly into Catria's side, disappearing her as well.

Now the Macedon Princess' remained.

I cautiously urged Alfonse and Raigh forward, Alfonse in the lead, into the grotto, to deal with them.

As soon as the Prince entered, Minerva attacked. She barrelled her way at Alfonse, her wyvern low, her axe high. Sparks sputtered off the weapon, scattering across the sky in Minerva's wake.

Alfonse was barely able to block the first attack, their blades sparking as he threw Minerva's attack glancing skyward.

But Minerva didn't slow. She circled up and over a mountain to Alfonse's right, and then screamed down to Raigh, who was stuck between Alfonse and the collapsed wall.

I cried out to the boy, focusing my eyes, rushing at him. He was yelling, conjuring as many wolves as he could muster, throwing them up at Minerva. Each apparition surged forward, igniting into embers across the meteoric dragoon.

But she didn't wince. She didn't slow. She just protected her little sister.

Her axe slammed into Raigh's midsection, sending him crashing into the remnants of the wall.

I remember crying out a dramatic 'Nooo!" as I rushed to him. The boy was shocked, and feebly reached down at the weapon in his body, only to vanish, much like all the foes we'd defeated previously.

Alfonse spun around and tackled Minerva off her wyvern, her axe stuck in the wall.

"Anna, take her dragon out!" I yelled at her.

"You mean wyvern?" she asked as she casually walked to it.

"Now!" I bellowed, overcome with grief.

"Ok," she shrugged, walking up to the snapping beast. She quickly dropped her axe across it's neck, turning it to smoke.

Alfonse and Minerva were struggling on the ground still. Alfonse was trying to pin her, but the Princess was incredibly strong, and quick.

In my anger, I ran up and launched a kick into the side of her face, knocking her out.

Now, in my defence, I didn't know that Heroes returned to the castle after being defeated, so my shock and anger were kind of well founded.

But still, I didn't even know how much I cared for that uptight kid after he was gone. Shows how much I know about myself.

"Sharena…" I panted. "Take her sister out. I want this over and done with…"

The Princess raised an eyebrow, and walked into the grotto. I watched as she calmly walked up to the small girl as she nervously fidgeted against a rocky mountain wall.

"I'm really sorry about this. But we'll be good friends some day, I'm sure of it!" Sharena said brightly before shoving her lance into the girl's shoulder. She cried out, and vanished as well.

I looked back at Minerva. Alfonse had crawled off her, and had risen, looking down at the fighter with a little smile.

Minerva suddenly opened her eyes, and pulled herself up. She extended an armoured hand to Alfonse.

"Well done, Prince Alfonse." The two shook hands, eyes locked. "You have proved strong enough to break our contract with Veronica. And so, we are free once more." She stepped back, nodding. The Princess was slowly fading away now. "I give you my oath that we will not attack your kingdom. Farewell!"

The area was quiet.

Then I erupted.

"What was that?!" I said, hands pushed out, waving at where Minerva had just faded.

"I am not sure I follow, Tazio?" Alfonse asked, walking up to me.

"She killed Raigh, and she gets to walk away, scot free? Really?!" I screamed at the Princes.

"Oh, no, Raigh isn't dead," Anna explained, walking to me. "If a Hero falls in battle, they are returned to the castle. They will feel a fair amount of pain in their defeat, but Raigh is just fine. He will most likely have a bruised ego, however…"

"I- but he- what?!" I was dumbfounded, looking back and forth at Anna and Alfonse, checking to see if it was a bad joke. I finally put my head down and whimpered, glad the rollercoaster of emotions had stopped.

"In any case," Alfonse said, putting a hand to my shoulder, "That completes this mission, Tazio."

"You're such an excellent tactician, Tazio!" Sharena said at my side, beaming. "Why, I think I'm going to be very fond of you!"

I could feel my face redden again as I took in that precious, pure smile.

"Hmmm?" Anna looked back the way we'd come. Matthew was running up to her, a scrap of parchment in one hand. He dropped it into Anna's hand, and without missing a beat, headed back out the gate.

Anna quickly unrolled the paper, and scanned its contents. She groaned.

"Everyone, listen up. This report is informing me that Emblian soldiers are advancing on our castle!"

"What? Then, all of this, here…?" Alfonse asked, looking around at the World of Mystery.

"It was just a distraction…" Sharena said slowly, thoughtfully. "We've left our kingdom open to attack!"

"Yes, but what's done is done," Anna consoled. "Now, let's make haste. Back to Askr!" She called out, waving us back through the gateway.

I tried to think of something to say, but finally just sighed, and followed behind the three Order members.

The return trip to Askr was largely uneventful. We sailed back to the village, and all of us piled into a caravan Anna hired. Sharena and Virion (who was chatting her up as soon as he saw her) were driving the cart, while the rest of us sat in the shaded, straw covered trailer.

"Oh, Anna!" Sharena said, between one of Virion's stories of bravery and wit that the peppy girl ate up. "I found an orb while scouting in the World of Mystery."

She pulled the glittering object out of a pouch, and tried to hand it back to her Commander.

I quickly pawed it before the hungry looking Anna could pounce.

"Thanks, Sharena, but I'll look after any orbs you find from now on," I said, quickly putting the orb with my other one. "The Breidablik uses them to summon Heroes," I explained.

"Oh, so that's what they're for? I wondered why they glowed near them. Guess we'll use that stash you've been building then, eh, Anna?" Sharena said.

"Why'd you have to tell him about my stash?!" Anna cried out tearfully. "I could have made a killing with them…"

After what felt like an eternity (I didn't have a watch or smartphone anymore, so time is going to drag from now on, I think…), we finally came within view of the capital of Askr.

Golden ramparts and pillars made up the huge castle in the middle of the city. Across it's face was a large, intricate shield with more Celtic patterns of gold and blue, the colours of the nation, I presumed.

Sitting around the castle was a sizable city, stretching out around the castle, up into the hills to the north, and around the huge lake in the east.

But the castle was the centre-piece, drawing attention to it at all times.

The city looked like it was well defended as well. We passed through a huge, double layered wall, manned by soldiers in ornate chainmail armour. I counted at least ten soldiers there alone.

One came up to the cart, saluting at Sharena.

"Princess Sharena! I'm glad to see you safely returned. Is Commander Anna with you?" he asked briskly.

"In the back," she answered with a jerk of her thumb.

The soldier hurried to the back opening, and shoved his head in.

"Commander Anna! We're so glad to see you. We're being assaulted at the Northern gate by Emblians. The last report I got shows we've held them off, but new Heroes are swelling their ranks!"

"Thank you. Step on it, Sharena!" Anna called out.

The caravan bolted through the city, bouncing across the flagstones. Virion and Sharena were screaming at the townsfolk as they hurtled ahead, waving at them to move.

The caravan rolled to a screeching halt in the courtyard of the castle. Anna leapt out as it stopped, followed by Alfonse and Matthew.

I fell out clumsily moments later. A real Great Hero, aren't I?

The Heroes walked up to the castle doors. Raigh was there, alive and well, just by the massive, bronzed double doors, tapping his foot.

"Took your time," he commented.

"Give it a rest, Raigh," I asked as I ran to catch up.

"I would have words with you as well, Tazio," Raigh said, pointing up at me.

"Later, we're being attacked right now," I told him, walking into the halls of the castle.

"Heroes!" Anna called out as she walked down the carpeted hallway of the stone interior.

Coming out of side hallways, or turning away from boards of information, were several colourful characters.

I later learnt the names of all the gathered Heroes the Order had managed to scrounge up, but at that moment, I was just looking at people from a LARP (I think that's how you write it, never been to one…).

"We are under attack," Anna bellowed. "But we have hope. Our Great Hero, the summoner, is here, and with his tactics, we shall repel the Emblian Empire once more! Now, form up, I am going to assign you positions along the wall. Get into your teams!"

I watched as Anna quickly organised three teams of four Heroes. I was quite impressed with her team formations, all things considered; cavalry were kept together, healers paired up with front-line fighters, and there was a good mix of ranged fighters as well.

As the teams were sorted, Alfonse and Sharena got a map of the city for me to analyse, so the teams could be sent to the location best suited for them.

After ten minutes of discussion, cavalry were sent to the hills around the north, a ranged team set up shop at the top of a hill, and the mixed front-line team went to one of the locations with the heaviest enemy presence.

"That leaves their frontal assault to us," Anna concluded, looking to Alfonse, Sharena and Virion.

"Raigh, stay here and guard the castle, just in case," I instructed the young mage. He was about to argue, but he absently felt around his gut, and nodded.

He hurried through the city streets. I only saw glimpses of the town, but it looked idyllic, with stone and wooden homes and shops, alongside an occasional crystal clean fountain or flower garden. The townsfolk were trying to go about their business, but many were hurrying home, just in case.

As we ran, a small gaggle of playing children ran to catch up.

"The Order of Heroes!" they all sang out, nipping at our heels.

"Go Prince Alfonse!" One little girl said, waving a wooden sword.

"Yeah, go Princess Sharena! You're the prettiest!" A small boy added.

"Nah-uh, Commander Anna is!" a girl next to him argued, punching the kids shoulder.

"Who's the new guy?" one kid asked.

"Is it a guy?" One said, pointing at Virion's long hair.

"No, the one in the hood!" the first kid said.

"He looks cool! Is that a new weapon he's got?"

We soon left them behind, with several of the kids falling behind of fleeing the closer we got to the sounds of battle. Anna shooed away the 'brave' kids that tried to follow us onto the battlefield, mentioning (in her Anna pose) how much it costs to fix any injuries on the battlefield, and asked if their parents could afford such injuries.

We finally came to the northern entrance to the city. It was further from the city than any other entrance, with trees dotting the landscape, and worn, ancient looking stone symbols drawn into the ground, a lot like the temple Anna had found me at.

Once we were spotted, the defending city guard retreated back into the city proper, dragging wounded comrades to waiting healers.

"They've got an incredibly powerful Hero with them, Commander!" one guard warned as we ran to the gate. "But we kept them outside the walls,"

"Good work, soldier," Anna said, looking ahead, trying to spot the enemy.

"Oh no… _She's_ here…" she breathed.

I peered ahead, to look at the foes at the city's gates. There weren't many Emblian's left, but in the middle of the masses was a powerful black horse, decked out in black and gold armour, with two figures atop in.

One was a regal looking man with wavy blonde hair, a chiselled, stern face, and the upright posture and presence of a commander, or a king.

Sitting in front of the man was a little girl, with long, prickly looking grey hair, a wheel-like crown at the back of her head, wearing robes of black and deep red.

She looked sad and melancholy, her eyes red but lustreless.

We could hear her soft, breathy voice even though we were leagues away.

"Scurry, scurry, little Heroes…" She ran her fingers up the head of her Heroes horse. "Steal for me. Spread destruction. Kill all those who stand in my way. This kingdom must fall."

She sounded a touch bored, to me. Like this was all part of the daily grind; the pillaging, killing, burning.

She looked up at her Hero behind her. "Once it's gone, no one will oppose me. Every Hero, in every world- they'll all be mine. Every. Last. One."

"Indeed, Princess Veronica," spoke the Kingly Hero in a refined voice.

"No!" Alfonse cried out, raising his sword to the short Princess. "We won't allow it, Princess Veronica. And I will personally never forget this violation to _my_ kingdom!"

The sad girl looked over at us finally. "Oh. It's you… And after I went through all that trouble to arrange that playdate…" She crossed her arms, looking thoughtful. She took a double take, and noticed me this time. Her eyes glowed this time.

"Hmmm. Now, who are _you_ , stranger?" She looked at my Breidablik. "Oh! You have that silly relic father spoke of. Then… you must be the legendary summoner. My, my…"

She had a small fit of quiet giggles, her hand up against her lips.

"Ahh. No matter. It simply means you'll be the first to die- Oh!"

The Hero behind Veronica gently lifted the girl off of his horse, setting her on the ground.

"Xander!"

The Hero, Xander, stared down at us, across the short stretch of stone and walls.

"You wish that hooded one slain, Princess Veronica?" The small child nodded. "As you wish."

"Oh… No! She has Prince Xander of Nohr, one of the most powerful Heroes of Conquest!" Alfonse suddenly realised.

"You didn't pick him at first?" I asked him, curious.

"I- It's been awhile since I read that book! I wasn't a big fan of it…" Alfonse admitted, his shoulders sagging.

"You didn't like it?!" I howled.

"In any case!" Sharena called out, her lance at the ready. "You shouldn't worry! We'll protect you, Tazio."

"Get ready everyone!" Anna called out. Alfonse stood tall, resolute. Sharena gripped her lance tightly. Virion notched an arrow. I focused and began to see the field.

"Let's show this rotten princess what the Order of Heroes can do!"

Xander launched himself across the battlefield, his horse galloping loudly into the space between the walls, a black and lavender sword held high. Flanking him was an archer and sword fighter, racing in behind him.

"Virion, take out that archer from cover to your right!" I called out. Virion ducked into a cranny of interlocking wall stones, to quickly spin out, his arrow flying straight into the enemy archer with a 'thwack', bowling him over.

"Sharena, move up and prepare yourself for Xander!" Sharena stepped up into a collision course with the cavalier.

"Alfonse, back her up with a finishing blow!" I said, pointing at Sharena's left side, just behind her. He hurried into position.

"Anna, you're in the back till the sword-bearers are dealt with." She nodded in agreement, her fingers drumming along her axe's handle.

Xander hammered into the city, yelling a fierce battle-cry. He swung at Sharena, ignoring the bunkered down Virion.

She twirled away from the horseman, jabbing at the horses exposed back-flank, making it rear up in pain.

Xander held tight to the reigns, his legs gripping the sides of his steed.

"Al, go!" I said, pointing at the exposed underbelly.

Alfonse charged and swiped his sword carefully through the kicking legs of the horse, his blade slashing the animal's belly, sending the Hero sprawling to the ground.

The horse disappeared, but Xander was back up on his feet in a moment after the setback.

"Sharena, lower left!"

The golden princess jabbed her lance at Xander's legs, but the man flicked his sword Sharena's way, sending a bolt of dark purple energy at her feet, forcing her to dodge.

"Alfonse, parry!"

Alfonse came at the man this time, his well made, plain silver sword slamming against the legendary, magical blade the Hero wielded.

"This is Siegfried, dear boy. What does your toothpick plan to do against it?" The contracted Hero said calmly, looking down at Alfonse.

Alfonse could only grunt in exertion, struggling to maintain his composure as Xander held the prince back almost effortlessly.

I focused on the rest of the battlefield, and reacted as quickly as I could as I saw the moving pieces.

"Virion, another round! Anna, intercept with a tackle!"

Virion rounded again, taking out the archer who had finally pulled himself up.

Anna collided pauldron first into the sword fighter that came hollering into the city, knocking the soldier to the ground, his sword clattering away.

"Sharena, go again!" I cried out.

Sharena lunged at full strength at her brother's attacker's back. Xander flicked his sword up, sending Alfonse sprawling, only to keep the sword going up and over his head, only to intercept the tip of Sharena's weapon. He'd caught it within the prongs of his split sword!

Xander gripped the sword with both hands, and twisted himself around to face Sharena, who was trying to untwist the caught tip of her lance. She looked at him, eyes wide, lips trembling.

Xander shoved his sword into the ground, yanking Sharena into the floor with her lance. He then deftly disengaged his powerful tool to swing back and knock aside the retaliating Alfonse, sending him to the floor once more.

"Uh, Virion, help Anna finish that guard off!" I shouted out, my calm vanishing.

The nobleman nodded and fired a single arrow at the fighter as he scrambled for his weapon. It pinned his hand down into the dirt, making him cry in pain and frustration. Anna walked up to him, and finished the feeble soldier off.

But, it was too late.

Xander came at me, his sword raised up high, ready to strike me down. I raised my hands up to try and block the incoming blow, preparing for the feeling of my flesh being sliced.

"Rauohrwolf!"

Behind me, a pack of flaming wolves launched themselves upon Xander.

He tried to beat them back, his blade slicing through them, only to make the apparitions explode howling flames onto himself.

In a final attempt, despite the flames surging up his body, Xander roared defiantly, leaped at me, his sword held up high, ready to strike me down. I fell backwards.

It was all Raigh needed.

"RAUOHRWOLF!"

Energy surged out from the small mage, forming the massive head of a pale red wolf, it's maw wide, it's teeth razor sharp. It flew into Xander, the jaw snapping shut on him.

He was blasted high into the air, wheeling past Anna, Alfonse, Sharena and Virion, who looked on in amazement.

Xander smashed into the stone floor, and rolled back out of the wall, right under the feet of an Emblian Cleric. She wordlessly reached down and began healing the Hero with her staff. Xander only groaned, his hair a frizzled mess, his armour singed, his cape in tatters.

Behind them, Veronica looked dissatisfied. She pouted a little bit, a hand on her hip. "Left all alone. Again?" She sighed. "How dull. I'll go console myself back home with… a cup of tea." She nodded to herself in agreement, and walked over to Xander and the cleric.

"Come my Heroes." Xander, looking a bit better after the magical healing, rose.

"I am sorry, Princess Veronica. That boy came from nowhere, but still, my honour is shamed…" the Nohrian Hero said, his head hung.

"Well, for your punishment at failing me, I mill make you piggy-carry me back home!" The small ruler said, pointing up at the massive ruler.

"Very well," Xander said, and with a grunt, lowered himself so Veronica could wrap her hands around Xander's neck, her chin resting on his shoulder. The Hero rested her little legs on his arms as he rose.

With the cleric in tow, the three headed away from the city, Xander slowly limping as Veronica waved her hand forward.

And, just quietly, that whole scene was just adorable to watch. I don't care that she's the enemy, that was cute.

"Well, that foolish princess is retreating with her Heroes," Anna muttered as she helped Alfonse to his feet.

"The battle is won, but this didn't resolve a thing," he said with a sigh. "The Empire will invade again, soon enough…"

Sharena kicked at the floor with her boot, her hands wringing the neck of her lance. "Stubborn girl! Why can't we just talk this through?" She waved a hand back towards the now empty battlefield. "These invasions are crazy! Honestly! That Veronica needs to grow up already. Where's her sense of diplomacy?" She kicked at a rock this time, sending it flying into a tree. "Such a _brat_!"

"Sharena," Anna said firmly. The princess spun to look at her Commander, frowning intensely. "Don't let your emotions get the best of you. Not on duty. _In public._ " She glanced around at the villagers carefully venturing out.

"I expect you to keep a level head if you're going to serve in this Order," Anna pointed a warning finger at Sharena. "Hostility is their way. Not ours."

"Sure, sure…" Sharena absently twirled her lance. She looked up at the stern Anna. "I mean… Of course, Commander!" She snapped a salute.

Anna turned to me, apologetic. "I'm sorry you've been thrown into this brutal war with us, Tazio. But…"

She pulled me into a big hug.

"I'm glad you're here - an official member of the Order of Heroes!"

"Yeah, thanks Tazio, we'd be done for if not for your help," Alfonse added with a smile.

"You're right. We're so grateful, Tazio!" Sharena beemed at me.

"I-?" I swallowed, feeling silly, heart-warmed, and disappointed all at the same time.

"To be honest," I said, turning to my other Hero, "We'd be done for without Raigh here."

The young boy looked up at the grateful Heroes encircling him. He smirked.

"Of course I would be here to save the day. I need you all to help me learn Dark Magic," he said, crossing his arms in triumph.

I tussled the boy's hair, laughing.

We all returned to the castle, picking up the other Hero teams in tow. I was slowly introduced to them all, and they all explained who they were and what they did.

Once back at the castle, telling everyone how exhausted I was, Anna walked me down a few corridors to my own, private room.

It was small, and plain looking, but it had a bed, a desk, and paper. (And a chamber pot, but that's less exciting…)

I was bid a good night by the Order of Heroes members that had seen me to my room, and I lay my head down on the small but comfy looking bedding.

Only to open my eyes what felt like moments later, an urge to write everything I'd just experienced that day down.

And that brings me to the present.

The wick of my candle is non-existent, and I can hear some morning birds calling out somewhere nearby. My ink pot I found is nearly empty, and my wrist is cramping.

But, I'm glad I got this down. It helped settle my mind.

I still have questions, like how long am I going to be here, how am I going to summon new Heroes, is Sharena single, etc.

But for now, I'm just glad I'm alive.

So, goodnight!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Castle Life

So.

Very.

Tired.

I had finished my first chapter. My eyelids were drooping, and I'd just crawled back into bed when there was a knock at my door.

In comes Sharena, as powerful and bright as the midday sun, right into the middle of my room. I pulled the sheets up over my head, groaning.

"Come on, sleepy! The sun's nearly up, and it's the start of a brand new day!" Sharena beamed, oblivious.

"No new days, I wanna go back to the last one…" I mumbled into the pillow.

"Tough! We've got a lot to go through today, and just enough hours to do it in. So come on!" She grabbed at a booted foot sticking out of the bed.

I tried to hold onto something, anything that would keep me in bed, but I was yanked out onto the cold floor with only my pillow gripped to my chest.

"Are you this much of a sleepy-head in your world?" the princess asked, standing over me as I grovelled on the ground.

"No, leave me be…" I moaned.

Sharena sighed. "Anna! He's not coming!"

"Oh, I'll get him going then," Anna said, strolling through the open door.

She held her trust axe in hand.

I crawled upright, blubbering and whinging as I did.

"Fine, I'm up…"

"Good! It's time to meet the rest of the castle," Anna turned and left, axe resting on her shoulder.

"Come on, this will be so much fun!" Sharena grabbed my hand in both of hers, yanking me along.

I can vaguely remember being walked back through all the torch-lit halls, and back into the great hall. I walked up a small flight of steps, and was whisked into another large chamber, lit brightly on all sides.

I shielded my eyes from the light, and Sharena let go of me, bounding off somewhere.

"Where are we now…?" I mumbled, shoulders sagging.

"Your Majesty, King Gustav, I present the Great Hero of Legend. The Summoner of Heroes. The wielder of the Divine Breidablik. The Chosen One of myth! This, is Tazio!" Anna pronounced in front of me.

I rubbed my eyes, and could vaguely discern twin thrones raised on a platform in front of me. I could kind of see that they were very richly coloured, in golds, whites and velvety blues. Behind the thrones was the seal of the Order of Heroes; an ornate gold shield made out of those celtic lines.

And on the throne, the one that was a tiny bit bigger, was a regal man.

My eyes were still watery, and fuzzy, but I could tell a great man sat in that throne. He had dark blue hair – a navy colour, I suppose, and facial hair that framed his whole face, like a lion. He had powerful features, a strong nose, wizened cheeks, and a furrowed forehead.

But, that's all I can remember. Even my description here could be part fantasy, honestly.

"Sup, Gustav…" I said through a yawn.

I'm so ready for palace balls, aren't I?

"Errr, what he means to say, father," Sharena started to say.

"Hmmm?" Something clicked in me. "I should kneel for the king, shouldn't I?" I slowly pieced the idea together. I then flopped to the floor, on my knees, head bowed, the slap of my shins against the stone echoing across the room. Awkwardly…

I'm not sure how much time passed, but the next thing I knew, Alfonse was kicking at my foot gently, whispering harshly.

"Tazio? Tazio!"

"Hmmm? Did I doze off?"

"In front of the King!"

"Oh… That's bad, innit?"

"Yes, very bad!"

"Am I gonna be, erm… executed?"

"No," Alfonse said, pulling me up. "The king was very grateful for your help in the defence of the city yesterday, and Anna explained how different our customs may be to you. He simply left to meet with the Council after you started snoring."

"Oh… Al…" I said slowly, sleepily. "I'm sorry, man… I-I ticked off your dad… and, and… I'm real sorry, you know?" my eyes were drooping, my head lolling.

"You guys give me a bed, and I just do that in front of your dad, man…" I smack my palm to my forehead. "Silly Tazio… Ho-how about I go sit in my room to think about what I've done…"

"No time, Anna wants you heading to the Summoning Ruins to start summoning Heroes. Just in case Emblia attacks the city again."

I loudly whimpered that time, my head down.

"Why did you not sleep last night, Tazio?" Alfonse asked, frowning.

"I was writing, that's why!" I wailed, slapping my fists to my side.

"Writing?"

"I'm putting my thoughts down, so I can make sense of everything, but it got late, and I was so excited to write everything, and… now it's morning!"

"You have many talents, don't you, Summoner?" Alfonse said thoughtfully.

"Well I don't want them!" I whinged.

Alfonse sighed.

"Alright. Here's the deal, Tazio. We need new Heroes. Stronger ones. It's a cart ride to the Ruins, so you can have a nap on the way there, but we do need you to head out there. Do you think you can manage that?"

I meekly nodded.

"Sharena and Anna are going, so you should be fine. They won't let anything happen to you as you rest. You can trust them," Alfonse began walking me back out into the Great Hall.

"You ain't coming?" I said as we past an empty bird's perch.

"I am going to head to the library, to try and find any mention of your World in our archives. What would you say is the name of your World, so I can speed up my search?" Alfonse asked, leading me down into the practically empty courtyard. A wagon was there, hooked up to two horses.

"Errr… Earth?" I replied, confused.

"The World of Earth? Well, I'll give it my best to find anything about your World, Tazio."

"Oh, thanks," I said as I was passed off to Sharena.

"Ok Tazio, time to get moving!"

"Yaaay…"

I clumsily pulled myself up into the bed of the wagon, landing face first onto the lightly covered bed of straw there.

"Ahh, hello Tazio."

I rolled onto my back and saw Virion smiling down at me, sitting cross legged in a corner at the front.

"Virion? What're you doing coming along? And… what happened to your accent?" I said, the tiny shock keeping me awake as Sharena climbed in next to me.

"Well, to answer your first question, I am coming along to witness the new faces you shall be summoning into this army. I aim to be a figure of repute and joy for these new Heroes!"

"You just want to meet the ladies I summon, right?" I asked through narrowed eyes.

"Ahem…" Virion collected himself. "As to my accent; a certain Matthew made it known that my natural vocals will be more than enough to woo those I meet. There is no need to adorn myself with an expensive, exotic accent," He said with a smile.

"Expensive?" I mused.

"Matthew was going to keep Virions secret for a fee. One he couldn't pay," Anna explained as she casually leaped into the driver's seat.

"Ah-hahaha… Lady Anna, what a pleasure to see you again," Virion said nervously.

"Likewise, Virion. Stahl, hurry up!" Anna called out.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" A young man in green armour, with messy brown hair, with an eternal cowlick in the middle, came down the steps. He hefted a clinking, awkwardly shifting sack on his back.

The man named Stahl finally swung the sack into the back of the wagon, right at my feet. "Those were surprisingly heavy!" Stahl said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"They're more precious than heavy, Stahl. You were careful with them?"

"Of course. It was a bit harder, without having my second breakfast, but I managed."

"Second breakfast?" I asked no one in particular.

"Stahl here has a massive appetite. He can eat enough for a platoon all by himself!" Sharena said proudly, patting the young man on the back.

"Oh, I don't think I eat that much," Stahl said with a laugh.

"He does. It's a good thing he's such a good fighter that the chef's can put up with him!" Anna said with a wink.

Stahl laughed nervously. "Ok folks, are we all set to go?"

"Let's go, to the Summoning Ruins!" Sharena said with a cheer.

I don't know how the ride went. I tried to stay awake, and chat with Stahl, or the others, but the straw, despite being prickly, was so soft, and the rocking of the wagon…

I'm getting sleepy think about it.

In any case, I put my head down for a second, and opened them what felt like a second later.

To find Sharena's sleeping face right next to mine. Our noses were separated by mere centimetres.

I balked, flinging myself into the side of the wagon, scrambling upright.

I saw Virion smile at me.

"You two looked so peaceful there. I hadn't the heart to wake either of you. You are a lucky young man," he said with a wink.

My words came out in a soup, making Virion laugh.

"There is nothing to worry about, dear Tazio. You were simply friends resting next to each other. That is all."

My mind was screaming a lot of other things. I looked down at the still sleeping Sharena. She was breathing gently in and out, her ponytail draped over her neck, her neck-wing beside her. Her lips were slightly parted, looking so soft, and sweet.

NO! NO! Not writing that down! Nothing was written down!

Oh, God, if she found this…

My completely plutonic friend Sharena opened her eyes at that point. I averted my gaze, respectful and full of nothing but friendly admiration for my fellow, strong, independant Order member.

"Oh, hey Tazio," she said with a little smile. "Hope you didn't mind me sleeping next to you for a bit. It just looked so comfy, I just could not resist!"

"Not at all, Sharena, you are free to sleep wherever, and whenever you choose, as I respect your choices!" I said.

(Ok, that's too much…)

What I actually said sounded more like this; "Oh, uh, it's cool, Sharena, you're ok to sleep around me, err, I mean, you can sleep with m- ump! You're fine! You're fine as is! You sleeping! Is fine! Is what I mean to say!"

(Smooth)

"Oh, good! It was really calming being around you, you know? So, it just kind of happened," she said, sitting up as she pulled her legs to her chest.

"Oh, that's… great?" I said, voice rising, looking away from her smiling face.

"We're here!" Anna called out suddenly.

"Oh thank you merciful God…" I breathed to myself, flinging myself over the side.

Anna walked our group into the summoning ruins; at the back of the ruins was a large, temple-like white stone structure, with massive, ornate pillars filled with chips and cracks along its surface. High walls ran alongside the temple, blocking access to the nearby forest. Stone statues lined up before the entrance, like rows of soldiers, each standing alone, strong and tall. We walked down one of the corridors without statues in it, marvelling at the imposing figures made out of marble (I think it was marble?).

"Summoning should be pretty straightforward once we get inside. We in the Order have never been able to summon particularly well, but our strongest Heroes have always appeared whenever we perform a summoning rite closer to here," Anna explained as we entered the temple.

We made our way to the back of the temple, marvelling at the carved artwork along the walls, showing scenes of great warriors unleashing attacks against their foes. Many Heroes appeared there, leaping into action; some wielded strange and magnificent swords, one had a strong looking bow and a pineapple looking hair-do. One well-endowed woman hefted a nasty looking axe.

At the back of the temple, it opened up again, into a well-lit, well-kept courtyard. A large stone structure sat in the middle of another floor of circular, twisting line-art.

The stone object was tall, with a rounded top. Ornate carvings in the rounded top showed what I could only describe as a tree, massive and old, holding a large circle within the centre that went all the way through the structure.

"This place is pretty interesting looking, isn't it, Virion?" Stahl asked, amazed.

"It all feels so… ancient, with great power surrounding us," the archer said slowly, clenching his fists as he spoke in marvel.

We looked out at the strange ornament before us. Right in front of it, inside the temple, was a small dais.

"This wasn't here before…" Anna said, carefully inspecting it.

I looked around, and saw two stone tablets sitting next to each other on a bench off to the side. I picked them up, and walked back, looking them over.

Both had four figures on display. The first had what looked like a man with a powerful sword, a woman with long hair flowing behind her, a young man holding a tome, and a young girl with pointed ears. The second tablet bored the busty woman from the carvings, the pineapple archer, a cheerful young boy, and a young lady with a pony-tail.

"Hey, Anna, any idea what these do?" I asked the Commander.

"Huh?" She said, looking up. "Oh, those look important!" she exclaimed, and grabbed the tablets.

'Ummm'ing and 'aaah'ing, Anna finally decided to set one of the tablets into dais.

"Ok, Stahl, do you have the orbs?" Anna asked without turning around.

"Right here, Commander," Stahl said, pulling the bag to the dais.

"Ok, Great Hero, do your thing!" Anna said, stepping away from the dais.

I lifted my Breidablik, and pulled the trigger, aiming at the stone pillar.

But once again, nothing happened.

Growling, I reached into the bag, and grabbed an orb out.

There was a small click from the dais.

Standing up, I looked at device again.

The tablet was gone, and in it's place was a plate with five indents, big enough for orbs to fall snuggly into.

"Uhhh?" I turned to look at the Heroes behind me. They all just shrugged.

"This is uncharted waters for us, Summoner," Anna explained.

Sighing, I turned back to the dais. I put an orb into the slot. Nothing happened, so I put another in.

Still nothing. So, I filled all the slots with orbs this time.

There was a shudder, and the orbs began to glow as soon as I put the last one in.

Their swirling colours deepened, and became solid colours.

Before me were orbs of red, blue and solid grey colours.

"Now we're gettin' somewhere!" I said, rubbing my hands together. I picked Breidablik up again, but this time, an opening appeared at the back of the tool. It was also shaped like an orb.

A little hesitant, I picked up the orb at the top of the plate, a red one, and shoved it in. The opening closed once the orb was in place, and I took aim again.

I pulled the trigger.

The blast of energy shot out of Briedablik, hitting the stone pillar right in the middle. The orb struck fast. Energy rolled down the pillar, blasting air along the ground. The pillar lit up, it's ornate design glowing, the lines humming.

There was a flash of light, the energy shooting up into the air. I blinked, blinded for a moment, only to look back and see a new Hero standing before the pillar.

He had pointy red hair, bright, sturdy looking red armour, and twin ribbons coming off of his shoulders. He sat atop a chestnut coloured horse, a strange, wiry weapon in his grip. A silvery glow faded behind him.

"I'm Cain, a cavalier of Altea," the Hero Cain announced, his horse walking forward. "Oh, yes – Cain!" he said, his voice booming and flamboyant. "Known far and wide as the Bull!"

"Uhhh, ok, Cain. You wanna come over here, pal?" I said, directing the cavalier into the temple.

"Of course, summoner! I take it I have been called forth to wage war, have I?" he said, his voice kept at an eternal 8 or 9 volume.

"Ehhh, yeah, I suppose you have? Talk to Anna, she'll help you out," I said, pointing to the ready Anna.

"This way, Cain, and I'll fill you in," Anna said, guiding the man outside. "Send any other Heroes this way, ok Tazio?"

"Will do!" I called back.

Sharena came up next to me now. "Ooooh, he looked strong! I hope he's friendly. Oh, what am I thinking, of course he's friendly!"

"Yeah, he seemed alright," I said, looking down at the other orbs.

"Summon another one, summon another one!" Sharena said, shaking me side to side.

"I can't when you're shaking me like that!"

"Oh, of course… Sorry again!" Sharena stepped back.

I grabbed another red orb, and readied Breidablik. Firing it, the same process happened.

The orb struck the pillar (it seemed to home into the centre), the light show played out after a blast of air. Then, after clearing my eyes, I saw a man step out onto the floor, silvery light fading behind him as well.

He had blue hair a lot like Alfonse's but without the golden tips. He had an ornate headband, regal blue and gold armour, and a sky-blue cape with a red underside. He smiled calmly under big, blue eyes.

"I am Marth, prince of Altea," the Prince said calmly, in a friendly tone. "It is good to make your acquaintance. Like you, I desire peace above all."

I raised an eyebrow. "Firstly, I've never met you before, secondly, how do you know I 'desire peace'?" I asked.

"I can see it in your expression," the young ruler said as he walked towards us. I could see the grip of a lovely looking blade at his hip. "You want the world to become a better, safer place for everyone. You care deeply for everyone you come across, no?"

"Errr…" I said, nervously. "A discussion for another day. How about you head out and talk to Anna. She's with a cavalier of Altea already. Maybe you know him; Cain?"

"Ahh, Cain! Excellent, I shall head that way immediately. Thank you, Summoner," Marth said with a bow of his head. He then strolled out of the temple, cape billowing.

I looked back to the others. They all had their mouths agape.

"That was _the_ Hero-King!" Stahl said, breathless.

"I knew he was a great warrior, but I never knew he was that… regal…" Virion said, looking down at the floor, eyes darting.

"Oh, Alfonse will be so excited! Thank you Tazio!" Sharena said, lit up more than normal.

"Why's that?" I asked as I went back to the dais.

"Marth is a personal hero of Alfonse's. And not, like, a summoned Hero, but a personal idol of his! He's always wanted to fight beside him, even if he won't say it."

"Oh, well, I'm happy to help," I said as I grabbed a blue orb this time.

I fired it, going through the same routine, except this time, when the light cleared, a small girl stepped forward, a golden light fading from behind her.

She had long blonde hair that fell down her back in ribbons. She had big blue eyes, large, pointed ears, like an elf's, and a tiny tiara around her forehead.

She wore a black cape, with a large collar that came up to her ears. The cape was held together by a love-heart shaped pendant.

The rest of her outfit was… revealing… She had a, well, for lack of a better term, a bra on, held together by a small pink bow. She had long pink leggings on, held up by twin, crossed belts, and twin, massive bows and ribbons besides her hips. She wore thigh high legs/shoes, held to her pants with more love-heart shaped attachments.

"I'm Nowi, a Manakete. That means I'm a dragon!" the little girl said proudly, her little arms held delicately to her sides. "I'm also 1000 years old, so I'll be your big sister!"

The Manakete, Nowi, walked up to me, and looked right up at me. Her blue eyes were so big…

"So what's your name, little brother?" she asked, hands on hips.

"Uuuahahhhhaaaaaa…" I think my nervousness came across. She was the definition of what anime-fan called a 'loli'. I won't describe my initial thoughts, for safety reasons.

"Ooooohhhh!" Sharena squealed.

"You are so adorable!" she said, coming over to squat before the child-like Hero. She patted the small girl on the head.

"Awww, thanks!" Nowi said, a big, goofy smile on. "You can be my little sister as well! Wow, you're really pretty!"

"Isn't she sweet, Tazio?" Sharena said, looking up at me.

I had my eyes closed, my fist up to my head.

"Ok, Nowi, we need to get you something else to wear, firstly, and secondly, what do you mean you're a dragon? You're a little kid!" I said, eyes still closed. I just couldn't look at the girl in such a provocative outfit.

"Huh? What's wrong with what I'm wearing? It's comfy, and pretty, and cute!" Nowi said, confused.

"It's not what someone… looking like you are… should wear,"

"Aww, come on Tazio, I think it's a cute outfit. What's so wrong about it?" Sharena asked.

"Well, Sharena, how would you feel if you wore something similar?" I asked, hands on hips.

"Oh, yeah, I would look great, wouldn't I? Nowi, we would absolutely look like sisters then!" Sharena turned back to Nowi, excited, and oblivious.

I tried very hard to lock away my sudden mental image, and just frowned.

"Well, what about being a dragon?" I asked.

"Fine, I'll prove it!" Nowi said defiantly. She strolled back into the summoning yard, and pulled a stone from a pouch at her back. She held it high, the sun striking the clear crystal, roaring as she did in an adorable, high-pitched voice.

After a moment, Nowi gasped, looking at the stone. "Oh no, this is just one of my shines! Hold on…" she rummaged in her pouch as I held my hands at my hips, and pulled out an icy blue stone this time. Holding it high, it reacted this time. Light beamed back out of it into Nowi's chest, who glowed in turn, levitating off the ground.

Then, standing where Nowi was, a large dragon appeared, bright yellow, with seaweed like fins flowing off her snouted head. Powerful legs held the dragon girl up, supported by long, wiry arms. Green shaggy wings waved at her back, and her thick tail wagged side to side softly, looking tough and heavy.

I fell onto my backside in surprise.

"You're a dragon!" I shouted, pointing.

"I said that, silly!" Nowi said, her voice coming from the dragon, distorted and warped, like it was telepathic or something. She pointed her snout to the sky, and opened her maw.

"Dragon breath! Rawww!" she giggled.

Energy glowed in the back of her throat, yellow and hot, before a stream of arcing, chaotic lightning erupted skyward, striking the clear blue, heading into nothing-ness.

I could only gasp and stammer, looking at this God-apparent come forth from such a small child. I realised then that the rules of my world didn't hold up here.

And I grinned…

Nowi transformed back and skipped back to us. "Pretty neat, huh?" She said, hands on hips, head raised high.

"That was so cool, Nowi!" Sharena said, practically radiating joy. "How long can you stay a dragon? How many breathes can you make? Do you always control the transformation? How cool are you?!" the questions came tumbling out of her lips.

"Hehe, I don't know a whole lot, but I still have lots of fun when I'm a dragon!" Nowi giggled.

"Come on, let's go show Commander Anna!" Sharena said, guiding the way with a hand on Nowi's back.

"Oh, an Anna? I wonder how nice she is? I bet she's super nice, right? Stahl, come on, let's go play afterword's!" Nowi said waving the young man over.

"Uh, sure Nowi. That could be fun. As long as you don't turn into a dragon when we play…" the cavalier said, following the girls out of the temple.

I nodded my approval as they left. "She is going to be unstoppable…"

"Eh, Tazio,"

I turned to see Virion coming up to me.

"Your summons, so far, have been… interesting, to say the least," Virion commented, limber arms crossed. "But I feel that getting more ladies into the army will be better for moral. Don't you think?"

"I don't have any choice in who show's up, Virion," I said, walking back to the dais. "And besides, I summoned Nowi, and she's going to be incredible!"

"That wasn't what I meant by ladies,"

"She's over 1000 years old, remember?"

Virion arched an eyebrow. "Is that the line you'll keep to?"

"What do you mean by that?!" I asked as I placed a grey orb into Breidablik.

"Oh, nothing at all, nothing at all, Summoner," Virion said with a wave of his hand.

I grumbled and shot the orb at the summoning stone.

This time, stepping forth, was a woman with long, eye-covering black hair, a curvatious figure, and close-fitting clothing. Strange bladed armlets adorned her forearms, looking sharp and deadly, glinting with the silvery light behind her.

"I am Kagero, a ninja from Hoshido," she announced, kneeling before me. "You have a mission for me? Then I will serve you from the shadows…"

"Errr…" I looked over at Virion. He was staring at Kagero's bowed face, eyes bulging.

"How can one as lovely as yourself hide such a pristine, marvellous face within shadows? My dear, I must strive to keep your beauty within the light, so all can witness and be entranced by it!" he finally said, bowing low.

"Um… I appreciate the kind offer, good sir, but my duty comes before any… witnessing of beauty…" Kagero said bluntly to Virion.

"Oh, duty, what a troublesome cause to follow. Why not follow your heart instead!" Virion pressed, undeterred.

"Ok," I said, stepping in. "Kagero, nice to have you aboard. Please head outside for a debriefing with Commander Anna. Virion, you will stay _here_."

"Of course," Kagero leapt away, vanishing completely into the darkness. She was good at her job, I'll give her that.

"But, m'lady!" Virion said, head twisting, trying to locate the vanishing ninja. "Damn, Tazio, why must you block my advances?"

"Because you are here to fight, not flirt…" I informed him, loading the last, colourless orb.

"Would you stop a pet cat from chasing mice, or a fish from swimming in cool blue waters? No, Tazio, you must let us Heroes be ourselves if you wish to succeed in this war!" Virion commented, shaking his head.

I didn't pay much mind to the frilly man's words then, but on reflection, I understand him much more now. These Heroes are Heroes because of their quirks, good or bad. And if I want this Order to do well, till I head home, I need to capitalise on their strengths.

Even if that means Virion will be reviled by most ladies in the army…

I fired the last orb, and out stepped, in a reddish hued light, another Virion!

"I am Virion, the finest archer of the fairest of realms. Delighted to be of service."

I blinked, a bit confused, and then looked over to the original Virion.

He had arched an eyebrow, and tapping his fingers against his crossed arms, stepped down to look at the new arrival. The new Virion looked the original up and down, pulling a similar pose. They circled each other, taking in all the sights.

"I would recommend training this Virion over myself," original said after a moment.

"I agree. I am just more skilled with the bow then this fine man," the newer Virion added, nodding in approval.

"I thank you for the kind words, good sir, and I hope you are well supported in your future endeavours," original Virion said with a small bow.

"I don't… I can't…" I stammered, looking at the clones.

"This is quite simple, Summoner Tazio," original Virion said, stepping back up to the dais. "This Virion would be classified, with the Order's grading system, as a three-star Hero. I, however, am only a one-star. As such, this Virion can learn more skills than I can, and would be more valuable within your army."

"It is the more tactful argument," new Virion added. "If we can relinquish this Virion, sending him home, to his own World; there would be less mouths to feed, less bunks to prepare, less hassles within your forces," he said, calm and casual.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Lord Virion," original said.

"Great minds think alike, no?" new said with a playful smile.

All I could think was; _Just kiss already!_

I held my tongue with a tremendous amount of willpower, a strength I doubt I'll ever have ever again…

"Ok, so how do I send you home, then, mr Virion?" I asked to original Virion. At least, I hoped it was the original.

"According to Anna, it requires the use of your tool," Virion said with a shrug.

"Hmmm…" I turned Breidablik over in my hands. I aimed it at original Virion slowly, frowning. "Are you sure this is what you want me to do?"

"It is the only logical conclusion," the well-dressed archer said with a shrug.

"Well… then I return you to your home," I said, pulling the trigger.

There was a flash from Breidablik, I saw Virion smile, and then, he was gone.

Five white, pristine feathers floated down from where Virion last stood. I stepped down, and grabbed them, putting them into a pocket. If Virion left them for me, it would be rude to dispose of them, I figured.

"A wise decision, Summoner Tazio," Virion said with a bow.

"I hope so…" I mumbled. "Hey, why aren't you putting on an accent?!" I said, realising the inconsistency.

Virion smiled nervously.

The rest of the day I spent all the Orbs Anna had collected. I used each and every one, no mater the colour that formed. I made quite an army of Heroes from them all, now that I think about it.

I was able to ask Sharena, when she came back, more about the star system Virion mentioned, and she explained how Heroes were summoned with differing power-levels, which could be divided into five levels, with one-stars being the weakest of Heroes, often summoned further away from the summoning stone, to five-stars being the strongest, most well-equipped Heroes.

From all my summoning, I was able to notice the light glowing behind each Hero indicating their star-level. Reddish hues indicated three-stars, silver for four-stars, and gold for five-stars, like Nowi.

I kept summoning and summoning, going through the orbs. Sharena laughed and gasped at each new Hero I summoned, while the new Virion made passes at the ladies, or clicked his tongue in barely-hidden disgust when a younger lady was summoned.

"I can't control who shows up!" I shouted at the man once again, before realising I had shouted it at original Virion.

Off memory, I summoned these Heroes; Lon'qu, Est, Setsuna, Frederick, Chrom, Fir, Bartre, Azama, Hana, Eliwood, Barst, Arthur, Beruka, Sully, Donnel, Lissa, Shanna, Catria, Jagen, Oboro, Niles. They were all so powerful looking, so intimidating.

But also, friendly. Mostly… The less I talk about Azama or Niles, the better… Egh…

But amongst them, I also called forth several five-star Heroes. Firstly, from a red-stone was Tiki, another young Manakete with a polite accent, who yawned often. Sharena tried to get Nowi to come back in and play with the nice girl, but Tiki was already napping in a corner.

I was incredibly surprised to summon forth a more mature, more, um… grown, Tiki not much later, as a four-star. After introductions, she promptly sat down and napped next to her past-self, the smaller Tiki resting up against the older Tiki's shoulder.

As I marvelled at how sweet they both looked, I wondered how many different forms of Heroes might show up…

Next, I called forth a woman on a Pegasus calling herself Caeda. She pronounced it like a cedar tree, so I'll write it like that. Strangely enough, Marth wandered back in, and was ecstatic to see his lifelong friend back with him. The blue-haired, sweet girl ran over and embraced the Prince, laughing like a school girl.

Virion was not impressed, let me tell you now. He looked so pleased when she showed up.

Marth didn't have to wait long before another childhood friend appeared as a five-star with Merric, a wind mage. The two chatted away happily, and I could have sworn they sounded exactly the same… I guess that's what happens when you grow up together.

The next five-star was a bubbly girl with twin pigtails atop a horse named Elise. She and Sharena smiled and laughed and were just brimming with happiness around each other. Sharena was so excited, she started talking about holding a party with all these new Heroes.

I was able to summon another Hero that was shown on the plaque I inserted, this time a blue-garbed sword-wielding lady. She introduced herself as Lyndis, but insisted I call her Lyn.

She was spellbinding, that Lyn. She had the most gorgeous, perfect face, green-hair pulled back into a ponytail that reminded me of fresh, soft grass, and she held herself well; confident, proud, and at ease with the world around her.

I could not wait to see her in action, the curved, elegant sword she wielded looking deadly and quick, like a samurai sword.

I experimented with the other plaque, and was immediately rewarded.

Hmmm, on second thought, I'm not sure if rewarded is the right word…. She's banging on my door right now, asking if she can come in and tuck me in…

I called forth the well-endowed woman in deep-black armour. She rode astride her wyvern seductively, legs only just crossed, her lavender hair curling and rolling like silk down over her face, chest and shoulders. She held a massive, heavy axe in one hand, and suggestively held a finger to her plump, rosy lips as she drank me in. Greedily…

"I'm Camilla, eldest princess from the Kingdom of Nohr," She slide off her wyvern, patting it on the head as she walked towards me, one high-heeled foot in front of the other, like she was on a catwalk. "Need my protection, sweetie?" she asked, coming right up to me, her bust giggling openly. "Consider me yours," she finished, touching my nose with her silky black glove.

I had no words, no thoughts, no feeling except shock and wonder.

Nothing like this had ever happened to me. I must have been frozen like a statue for far too long, probably staring at things I shouldn't be staring at, because Camilla turned, looking hurt, her arms wrapped around her, pushing up.

"What's the matter, sweetie? Don't you like me? How I… look?" she said, her figure turned to be on perfect display.

"No! No, no no no no…." I could only babble.

"Oh, aren't you just adorable…" she purred, patting the top of my head, the cold, pointed metallic glove sending shivers down my back.

"What about yourself, young man?" she said, turning to Virion.

I had forgotten he was there. Looking at him, he was as speechless as me. But he collected himself, stood straighter than a tree, and bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

"No, m'lady, I was simply so enraptured by your beauty that I couldn't utter words! Besides, anything I come up with to describe you would simply fall short of the mark, my dear. Simple descriptors cannot match your ravishing splendour!" Virion said, as earnestly as he could, elegance lacing his utterances.

"My, don't you have a lovely, silver tongue!" Camilla said, walking with a wiggle in her hips to Virion. I could see beads of sweat drop off his nose. "I would so love to hear more words from you." She ran her talon like hand over Virions neck.

"But make no mistake. I am dedicated to my dearest Corrin, you understand," Camilla said, smiling sweetly. "And if I catch you darting that lustrous tongue of yours at them, I shall rip it out."

"Of course, ma'am! I shall hold it from them, m'lady!" Virion said, eyes wide.

"But _you_ won't have to fret, my sweet," Camilla said, coming back to me. She ran a bare finger under my chin. It was so soft and warm… "You can say whatever you want around me…"

"O-oh kay…" I stammered, my tongue trapped in my mouth, my face rigid, paralysed by her touch.

"Hey, Tazio, the Commander say's it's time to head home, so finish your session and -oh my gosh, you're Camilla!" Sharena said as she walked back in.

"Oh, I indeed am, young girl, and who are you, precious?" Camilla said, with a smile and tilt of her head at the approaching Askan Princess.

"Oh, wow! I'm Sharena, Princess of Askr, and I have to say, you really are beautiful! Alfonse wasn't lying then. Oh!" she said with a snap of her fingers. "He would just love to meet you! I know he loved looking you up in our catalogue when he was younger!"

"Oh, how… sweet…" Camilla said tactfully, a hand under her chin.

"Come on Tazio, time to mount up!" Sharena said, pulling Camilla out of the temple.

"Uh huh…" I mumbled. Once Camilla, and her dutifully following wyvern had left, I went back to Virion. "You ok, man?" I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He hadn't stopped bowing.

"There are some women in these worlds that one mustn't approach. They are an embodiment of the Venus Flytrap, my boy," Virion said, shakily pulling himself upright. "They may seem sweet and alluring to begin with, but if you get too close, you will be trapped in their cage, and devoured…" he said, gulping.

"You know, we have a word for women in my world like that," I said, leading the shocked nobleman away, my bag of orbs over my shoulder, substantially lighter. I think there were only three left over.

"I shall hear your descriptor another time, Tazio. For now, let me catch a reprieve in the wagon, if you will," Virion said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Sure, sure…"

The trip home was a colourful one. All the fliers took to the sky, swooping and gliding up above us, their shadows an aerial show for us on the ground. Some had taken some passenger with them, like Caeda, who guarded a sleeping young Tiki on her back, like a big sister. Camilla had urged me onto her wyvern, but I declined, telling her I wished to speak with and get to know all the other Heroes.

A guard of horse riding Heroes encircled the wagon that Stahl continued driving. At the head of the group was Frederick, who dutifully removed any and all pebbles in our way as we travelled, leaving the cleanest path for us to follow. Cain, Bartre, Sully and Barst walked together, hollering and laughing heartily.

Fir, Hanna, Oboro and Lissa all chatted away happily, till Elise and Lissa met up and laughed away, giggling like little girls. The man, Arthur, dressed colourfully, like a super-hero from my world, proudly walked near the front. Somehow, only he was hit by a falling tree branch, with a bee hive, whereby he was chased into a pond filled with mud. The goofball smiled all the while, his square jaw as chiselled as a statue's.

Setsuna followed a similar fate, winding up in animal traps more times than I could count. Luckily Kagero would appear and release her, only to fade back into shadow. Eliwood and Lyn chatted happily, being old friends, while Marth and Merric did the same. Chrom stood in the centre, looking out at everyone, watching them all like the Shepherd he was, till Lissa decided to introduce his shirt to the new frog she'd picked up.

"Hey, hey, Tazio!" I looked down and saw Nowi walking beside me.

"What's up, Nowi?" I asked, looking at her smiling face.

"I found this shiny stone!" She said, holding up a flat, salty-white crystal up to me. "And I wanted you to have it, for being such a good little brother!"

"I-well, thank you Nowi, I'll treasure it," I said, taking the grimy stone with a smile. I looked it over, and thought it was a quartz or something.

"Hehe, I know you will! Now to give Sharena hers!" Nowi darted off to the wagon.

I smiled as I watched her struggle into the moving wagon, till the pot-wearing farmer, Donnel, pushed her up the last bit.

"Well, I didn't know you were into _those_ kinds of girls," a saucy whisper trickled into my ear.

"Ghaa!" I cried out, stepping away from Niles, who leered over at me with his one eye, his dirty white hair going everywhere, hiding his eye-patch.

"My, aren't you high-strung… Maybe I could convince all these little ones to give you a back-massage. You'd enjoy that immensely, wouldn't you?" Niles said, looking over to Elise and Lissa, his lips curling in delight.

"You're presuming a lot there, Niles," I said after I'd caught my breath. "I've no interest in them besides them being Heroes," I said, raising my head high.

"Heroes, huh? And what does a Hero do for you, Summoner? Do they fight? Do they win? If need be, do they die for you?" Niles asked, poking me with each question.

"If need be, they will fall in battle, yes. But, they will come-" I started before he cut in.

"Oh, so you're a masochist… You make them go out to fight, and then watch these pretty little flowers getting all torn up, their clothes in tatters around their small, supple bodies… Oh, _yes_!" he said loudly, looking heavenward, a massive grin growing. "I can just imagine it now. The look of ecstasy across your face, the run of drool down your lips. My, my, you're a very naughty boy, aren't you?" Niles said, leaning in, eyelid lowered, coy.

"Wait, what, no, it isn't anything like that!" I said, my body getting hot. This man was as eager to get under anyone's skin like a barb, but he was so surgical and quick about it, he was more like a surgeon's knife.

"Oh, dear, Summoner, you've gone beet red… what will the others say of your scandalous reaction to all these helpless, naïve girls being harmed before you? Maybe the rumours of your private, night-time activities with them will grow as well…" Niles said.

"Hello their Tazio! And it's nice to meet you, Niles," coming down from the clouds (like an angel) on her white Pegasus was Caeda, Tiki still peacefully napping away against her back.

"Oh, thank God…" I said to the floor. "Hello, Caeda. You doing ok with Tiki?" I asked, looking directly at the blue-haired maiden.

"She is doing quiet well, thank you. But, I wondered if you could watch her? I wanted to talk to Niles," she asked sweetly.

"Oh, of course!"

Caeda landed, her Pegasus walking at a steady pace. Caeda then gently lifted the little Tiki off the flying horses' flanks, and onto my back, her feet slipping over my arms, her warm head resting on my shoulder. I leant forward so she didn't slip away.

"Ahhh, how kind of you, holding that little one up against you," Niles observed, smiling.

"It's very sweet of you doing a favour for me, Tazio," Caeda agreed. "I'll let everyone know how kind and supportive you are to us all," she said with a nod.

Niles frowned, looking at Caeda. "So, what would you like with me, dear Princess?" he asked, clearly annoyed.

I mouthed 'thank you' to the considerate flier as I walked closer to the wagon, leaving Niles to his fate.

Tiki was so light, I could easily hold her up with little effort at all. But, I'm wondering now if in coming to this World, I got stronger, as I was never this capable of anything like this at home.

Eh, not important. Anyway, Tiki's long, elf-like ears began rubbing the back of my neck, tickling me, so I quickly pulled my hood up, glad I didn't wake her.

"Ah, how nice it must be to nap like that," a well-spoken woman said as she came up to me.

I looked over and saw the adult Tiki walking next to me now, smiling down at the little Tiki.

"I don't think I'd be able to carry you as easily," I admitted, looking the Manakete up and down. She had slender arms and legs, a loose red dress, and stronger facial features, but there was no mistaking that she was an older Tiki.

"Oh, no, I doubt very much that I could nap up against you," Tiki said sweetly. "I think I would be too distracting,"

"Hehe, what do you mean?" I said, trying my best to avoid looking at her chest.

"I'm sure you know, Tazio. And it's quite alright. I have been considered a goddess, or close to one, in my world," Tiki said.

"The Voice, right?" I asked, remembering what she said as she was summoned.

"Yes, but it really is just a title. Now, here, I am just Tiki once more," she said, looking around.

"I must thank you, Tazio. You have brought me back to my friends, people I thought I would never see again," she said, looking over to Marth and Merric. "There is no greater gift in this world, or any other, for this chance."

"Oh, it's my pleasure," I said, smiling sadly. I guess that Tiki was more than 1000 years old at that point. She had seen a lot of people pass away before her, I guess. It must have been hard.

"Tazio!" a shout came from the wagon in front of me. I turned to see Nowi.

"I want a ride as well!" Nowi cried out, standing up on the edge of the wagon.

"Wait, wait, Nowi, no!" I cried out, trying to raise a hand, but the little dragon girl leapt into my face, gripping my shoulders, her blonde hair shoved into my face, going up my nose. She wrapped her booted legs around my hips, hugging me like a baby koala, except she was giggling all the while.

"Hmmm?" a drowsy Tiki roused behind me at the shaking and jostling. "Cae-Cae?" she asked, before realising where she was. "Oh, hello Tazio. I didn't realise I was moved. I hope I haven't been a bother to you?" she asked, rubbing her eyes as she spoke so politely after her rude awakening.

"Erk, nope, you're fine!" I said, trying to breathe through Nowi's smothering hair. "It's the other dragon girl who's being a bother!"

"Hey, I wanted to play just like Tiki is all. I'm not being a bother…" Nowi said, sullen.

"Oh, you're Nowi?" little Tiki said, realising the existence of the other girl holding onto me.

"Yeah, hiya! Sharena said she wanted for me to play with you, but you had a nap instead, and I was still chasing Stahl around!" Nowi said excitedly, looking over my shoulder to Tiki.

"I'm sorry. I was just feeling sleepy, is all. We'll play another time, I promise," Tiki said, earnestly.

"Yay!" Nowi cried out, punching a fist into the sky. "We can play real dragon-tag!"

"Would it be alright if I joined in as well?" adult Tiki asked, stepping forward.

"Oh, a second Tiki? Sure, that means more fun!" Nowi said excitedly.

"Are you-?" young Tiki began to ask, looking the other Tiki up and down.

"I am you, from the future," adult Tiki said kindly with a nod.

"Oh, you, I mean, I, get so pretty!" young Tiki said in amazement.

"Oh, thank you, and I had forgotten how cute I was at your age," adult Tiki praised in turn.

I grumbled to myself, feeling like a pack-horse for dragons.

The travel home was largely uneventful from then on out. Tiki fell asleep, and Nowi, despite her protests of not being sleepy, followed suit afterword's, her head against my chest, making the walk a little easier for me.

We walked into the city, to the cheering and whistling of the villagers who witnessed us coming in.

"Gee, I shure din' think wee'd get such a warm welcom'!" Donnel said, with his charming farmer's accent, scratching at his head under his dented copper pot.

"You're Heroes, Donnel," I explained. "You're going to be protecting all these people, and they're very thankful, to all of us" I said, looking around at them all.

Seeing all of them, the women, men, children, elderly, and everyone in-between, I felt a pang of guilt grip my heart. I had forgotten about my desire to get back home up until that point. I was just lost in all the happy, hopeful people lining the streets. I'm feeling… awful… now…

Ah, moving on, we passed by a massive tower this time, one made of stone and covered in ivy and runes.

"Oh yeah, Tazio!" Anna called out from the wagon. I hurried over to her. "That right there is the Training Tower. You can use that place to train up these new Heroes'. I'll show you how it works later,"

I just nodded my approval, falling back, wondering how that tower would train the Heroes.

The cheering followed us all the way into the castle, with several Heroes waving pleasantly, some like Elise and Lissa basking in the adoration. Camilla blew kisses out to the crowd from her wyvern, high above all the men that leered up at her. Nowi and Tiki woke up and began waving as well, hanging off of me, smiling wide.

Several children darted in and raced around everyone's feet. Sully and Cain lifted some kids up for a ride on their steeds. Bartre flexed and hollered with manly grunts. Eliwood and Lyn smiled and pated some of the little rascals on the head. Donnel looked like he was incredibly pleased with himself, but looked a little shy and out of place.

We rolled into the castle to meet Alfonse and the other Heroes we left behind.

I briefly saw Raigh, on the top step, looking out into the crowd of Heroes, frowning. But, the next time I looked, he wasn't where I last saw him. I couldn't see Matthew there either.

"Welcome, Heroes, to the Castle of Askr," Alfonse announced loudly as the gates into the city wee closed. The flying Heroes had landed, and everyone listened intently.

"You have all been summoned here because you are warriors with unique skills, passion, and power beyond the ordinary," Alfonse continued. "Because of that, we ask you all to help our kingdom, my kingdom, in stopping the Emblian Empire from attacking us, and invading the Worlds you all come from. This war is one that affects not just our World, but all your Worlds, all your loved ones, as well. So please, stand with us, and fight!"

He raised his sword high, to a cheer of clapping and whistles of admiration.

"Yay, well said, Alfonse," I heard Sharena say, clapping heartily. I saw Anna nod in approval.

From there, the older Heroes came down and helped allocate bunking for the new Heroes. There was laughter and greetings all over the courtyard as old friends and allies met again. The two Lissa's were a real sight to see, dancing with each other, trying to see who would slip a bag of moths down their dress first. Soon, everyone drifted inside, to see all there was too see.

Alfonse was gobsmacked to meet Marth and Caeda at the same time. He was incredibly flustered when Sharena introduced him to Camilla, who toyed with the poor prince.

I quietly left to find Raigh and Matthew, the only Heroes I hadn't seen in the hall.

I went into the direction of my room, hoping to bump into Raigh, and was found by Matthew first instead.

"There you are Tazio. I'd hoped to find you," he said, hand at his hips.

"There you are, Mat! Glad I found you, I wondered where you were, you weren't out there when the new Heroes arrived,"

"Mmm, yeah, I was still mapping the Castle out. Speaking of the new Heroes…" Matthew suddenly became uncharacteristically nervous, his smile gone. "Did you happen to summon someone by the name of… Leila?"

I thought for a second, and then shook my head no. "Sorry, no one named Leila. Why, did you know her?" I asked.

"Hmmm, oh, she was just a good work colleague is all, and it would have been nice to have someone like her here," Matthew said, his grin back.

"Oh… ok…" He seemed ok, but I'm sure there was something Matthew wasn't telling me.

"By the way, have you seen Raigh?" I asked, moving to a new subject.

"Oh, yeah, the kid went into the library. He was in there with Alfonse for ages today," Matthew informed me. He then gave me a copy of his castle map, and sent me on my way.

I hurried through all the corridors, following the map as well as I could. I was able to get to the library easily enough, without turning myself around. Walking inside, I marvelled at the massive selves of books, wooden benches and tables with open tomes upon them, and the huge ceiling and paned-glass portrait above everything. It smelt like burning wood and dry paper, but it was kinda cozy, despite the size.

I stalked through the shelves, looking for the green haired boy. I found him alone in a corner, the furthest one away from the entrance, near a fireplace.

"Raigh, hey there, what're you up to?" I asked, walking up to him. He looked up from his book, and frowned.

"None of your business," he said, dark and moody.

"Oh, ok then…" I sat down next to him.

"I saw you out to greet the new Heroes. But then you vanished. I take it you didn't find the Hero you were looking for?" I asked, bluntly.

"Oh, I found plenty of Heroes out there. No horrible people at all…" Raigh muttered, snapping the book he was glaring at shut.

"I'm feeling hungry. I'll see you later," the young mage said, shoving the book into a shelf as he hurried away from me.

Once he'd left, I carefully found the book he'd had, and opened it. The page he was on fell open, with a page folded between the others in Raigh's hasty closing.

I was able to read most of it, but I was surprised by the portrait at the top of the page. A young girl, with a huge smile on her face, looked out at me. She had cropped greed hair, much like Raighs, and a small blue dress with a mid-night blue cape. The Hero's name was apparently Nino, and she hailed from the World of Blazing. Reading a bit more, I found the poor girl had suffered a torturous, heart-breaking childhood at the hands of a group of assassins', but had finally been freed with a fellow assassin, and had fought alongside Lord Eliwood in a war for his home.

"Tazio!" I was shocked away from the book by Lissa, who had appeared at my side.

"Geez, Lissa, no need to shout. This is a library, after all…" I said, catching my escaping breath.

"I tried talking, but you were in daydream land," Lissa protested. "Anyway, it's time to come eat, so let's go!" she pulled at my sleeve, dragging me out of the library, her twin pig-tails bobbing as we raced.

We ran into the mess hall, where all the other Heroes were already seated. Across the tables were pots and plates filled with immaculate, mouth-watering bread, soups, cooked meats, salads and toppings. Lissa excited sat me down next to her and Chrom, and they dug in.

I followed suit, and was surprised at how hungry I had gotten. I realised I hadn't eaten anything since being summoned by Anna, and was lost in all the excitement. So, I dove into the food.

I later found out that Donnel, at least a version summoned by the Order, was leading the kitchen these days, with his own personal army of cooks to do his bidding. He had taken charge after another Hero summoned by the Order, Felicia, had been removed from the kitchen following several catastrophes.

I listened to all the Heroes chatter away as I shovelled food, and watched as opposite me, Stahl kept pace with me, eventually eating more than me in the end, chatting all the while.

I looked out and saw there was no order or reason to the seating. Everyone had spread out, and was talking and meeting everyone else, getting to know them all.

Everyone laughed when Arthur stepped up, but fell backwards, his feet slipping up on a banana peel that had appeared behind him suddenly.

Sharena hardly sat still, moving from table to table, talking to everyone, getting to know them as well as she could. Alfonse smiled at his sister from a seat he kept to himself close to the back of the hall, while Anna tried to get prices for some of the weapons the Heroes carried from other worlds.

I noticed some Heroes weren't in the hall, like Matthew, Kagero, and Raigh, strangely enough. I could understand why the spy and ninja weren't present, but I was getting worried about Raigh.

Once we'd all had our fill, Anna gave a short speech about how grateful Askr was to have the Heroes, and that the fighting was sure to begin again soon, so rest and training would be needed for everyone.

Everyone then headed out, and feeling tired, I headed back to my room.

I was stopped in the middle of the Great Hall by Alfonse, who called out to me.

"Tazio! A word, please," I turned to him, expectant.

"What's up?"

"I spent the day looking through our records of Worlds. Every single one we've discovered and visited. However, I couldn't find any known as the World of Earth, unfortunately," Alfonse said, bowing his head.

"Oh, ah… right, well, we'll just have to keep looking, right?" I was surprised and a little guilty at that point. "Gotta get home somehow, right? Haha…"

"In some ways, I'm glad I didn't find anything…" Alfonse cautiously added. "Sending you home so soon… would just end up putting us back to where we started, and I'm sure Sharena would just be heartbroken if you left so soon,"

"Errr…" I could almost see the tears in Sharena's eyes if I told her I was leaving for good.

"But, then again, it would certainly… hurt less… if you were too leave before she became truly attached…" Alfonse muttered, almost to himself, hand to his chin.

"Uh… Yeah, you've got a point. Well, I'll make sure, even if we do find the gate to my World, I'll stick around to help finish Embla off. Just cause I'm nice like that," I said, winking as charmingly as I could.

Which, truth be told, wasn't much.

"Hmmm?" Alfonse came out of his musing. "Right… Well, I shall bid you a good-night, Tazio. I'm sure you want to train all these Heroes extensively tomorrow at the Tower."

"Yeah, that was gonna be my plan," I said, thinking of all the Heroes I'd summoned, and some team combinations.

I bid the prince a good night, and headed for my chambers. As I walked through the flame-lit corridors once more, I bumped into Chrom.

"Hello, Tazio. Off to sleep, are we?" the Shepheard asked, truly interested.

"Yeah, got lots of training for everyone tomorrow, so I need my tacticians rest!" I said, twirling around the powerful man.

"Indeed. I didn't mention this before, but I'm glad to be here, Tazio. I feel confident, with your support, we'll become even greater than we were in our own Worlds. You remind me of a good friend, whom is also a tactician. I just hope the bonds we build are as strong as the one I hold with them," the man said, putting a gloved hand onto my shoulder. I could almost feel the support and admiration he had for me flow across to me.

"I- Thank you Chrom. That means a lot to me," I said, shaken, but feeling bolstered.

"It is my pleasure. An army is but a collection of animals without a tactician to guild them!" he said, heading to the men's bunks, a hand over his head in goodbye.

I got to my room without any other hassles, and promptly fell asleep. No writing for me that time.

I had training on my mind.

He next morning, we all fasted quickly. I was eager, and flited about the room, chatting to as many Heroes as I could. Sharena was gobsmacked, looking like her job had been taken.

But while she may have been interested in becoming better friends with the Heroes, I was checking what skills and abilities each Hero could learn. I was able to quickly plan out some team combinations for the tower, focusing on the five- and four-star Heroes to be trained up.

Once everyone had eaten, we headed out, a massive, brightly coloured contingent swarming for the imposing Training Tower.

Anna explained the rules the mystical Tower maintained for it's training regime; only four Heroes could enter (not including myself, Anna assumed) and each floor of the Tower contained differing foes of differing difficulty to fight. The foes were generated randomly by the Tower's magic, and occasionally Heroes would be generated within each floor.

We set up a mini camp within the parkland that surrounded the Tower. I organised for the Askr trio to head in first, with new Virion in tow. I set Marth and Chrom in charge of the Heroes in our absence.

The rest of the day was spent working with each group of Heroes, improving their power, developing fighting techniques and strategies for each unique team. We climbed the Tower's dark, ethereal staircases as soon as one floor became too easy to conquer for all the units in the team.

As the day wore on, Anna would stop to offer me a, um, I think she called it a 'ausdauer' potion? I just call them stamina potions. In any case, the sweet fluid revitalised me and my allies, making my lips and chest tingle. Anna said the potions were good for extended marches, but were no substitute for a healthy meal.

I switched teams as soon as I noticed a Heroes power's peak, which often happened when we were close to the tenth floor. I'd then switch to a different team, and take them through, running them through the gamut.

As we switched I noticed the camp of Heroes chatting or playing with the villagers that had ventured into the park, curious and eager to see the summoned champions of other Worlds. Chrom and Marth did a great job of keeping things together while I and the Askr trio were away.

From all the training I did, I have to write down how good the five-star Heroes are. Nowi and Tiki are just tanks; they hit hard, and take little damage. Their dragon forms are truly terrifying, looking like mini-Godzilla's (no one here will get that…).

Lyn was so quick and powerful, as long as she wasn't hurt too often. She would slash and cut through any foe in multiple strikes, some so fast I didn't notice them till I saw the deep cuts appear in the randomly made foe before her.

Elise was an exceptional healer that galloped across the battlefield, providing an aura of healing light for any Heroes in trouble, moving incredibly well.

Merric was a good guy. It took me awhile to find his niche, but his Excalibur tome will ruin any flier's day!

Caeda… well, she's very good at looking after the horse stables back at the castle. And she's so lovely to everyone. Yeah, I'll put that down…

Some other Heroes I want to highlight from my time in the tower include Kagero, with her devastating poison daggers that cripple any infantry units; Camilla was a brute that struck furiously at anyone in her way; Marth was just a great overall guy; and Chrom was a sight of pure fury in action. I hope to see them as five-stars someday.

The other Heroes were powerful in their own right, but it will take more time to find their spot on a team.

As we trained, I asked Anna about the star system, and she mentioned that there was a way to enhance a Hero into a five-star form. It wasn't a well-known technique, but it required lots of Hero-Feathers.

"Hero-Feathers?" I reached into my jacket pocket, and pulled the five, still glowing feathers Virion left as he departed. "Like these?"

Anna's eyes widened, glowing in the semi-dark of the Tower. "Yes, yes, exactly like those!" She reached out for them, looking grabby.

"How about I hold onto them…" I said, yanking away from her. I put them away into a safe spot.

"So how many to make a Hero five-stars?" I asked as we reached the seventh floor. Donnel lead the way, but Setsuna was nowhere to be seen. I sent Beruka off to find her.

"Alfonse knows a bit more about these technical things, but I think the number 20,000 was mentioned?" she said, in her pose, trying hard to remember.

"20,000!?" I asked, incredulous.

"Hey, I don't make the rules," Anna said with a shrug.

"Where am I gonna get so many…" I mused to myself.

As the sun began to sink over the hills surrounding the city, casting shadows over the park below the Tower, we all headed back for the Castle, eager for a meal.

As the Heroes headed into the mess hall together, cajoling and hollering to each other, Anna took me to the side.

"I completely forgot to introduce you to another member of the Order, Tazio!" She said, slapping a hand against her forehead. "Come this way!"

She walked me to the head of the Great Hall, to the bird-perch on the right. This time, a light-grey owl sat atop the forked branch.

"This is Feh!" Anna proudly presented the bird. It hopped up with a flutter of feathers at hearing its name. "She is our messenger owl! She'll often bring news of the outlying villages and lands of Askr, as well as gifts to the Order from around the country. Isn't she the best little owl?" Anna said, cooing and stroking under the bird's beak.

I was bamboozled.

"Huh?" I uttered, shoulders sagging. "We in Hogwarts now?"

"I don't know what you mean by that…" Sharena said, appearing at my side.

"Don't worry, it'd take too long to explain…" I groaned.

"Oh!" Sharena exclaimed. "Look, brother, summoner!" she said, pointing. Feh had picked up a sealed letter into her beak, and was waving her little wings excitedly.

"It looks like Feh brought something to give us!"

"Hmmm?" Alfonse came over, and I went next to him, looking down into the nest wedged between the perch's fork. Sitting in the straw bed were two orbs and a stamina potion.

Sharena let the little owl up onto her arm, praising the bird with pats and neck tickles. "You're so clever, aren't you?" she cooed.

Alfonse and I reached in to grab an orb each. I almost dropped mine was I felt it heat up the palm of my hand.

"I-it's warm…" Alfonse muttered, gingerly holding the orb away from him.

"Oh, the letter is from a priory in the south. They sent us the stamina potion as thanks for sending the Embla Empire packing last month!" Sharena said excitedly.

"Stamina potion? Then… where'd the orb's…" I asked, horror creeping into my thoughts.

I turned to Alfonse. The prince turned to me.

I undid the tie on my pouch, and quickly slid the orbs into it, tying it off.

"We shall never speak of this to anyone," Alfonse said, eyes forward.

"Speak about what?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"Exactly…"

The rest of the night was spent in relative peace. All the Heroes were exhausted, with most of them reaching floor five in the tower, or floor eight or higher if they were five-stars.

The chefs were all prepared for the meals this time, as they had to improvise without Donnel around to help out. Luckily, the meals were fine, and the atmosphere was warm and friendly. I had no idea how crazy things would get on the way to bed…

After I had finished, I headed out for my chambers, but was stopped by Lyn, who had come up from behind me, lightly tapping me on the shoulder.

"Hmm, yes, Lyn?" I asked, hands on hips.

She looked nervous, wringing her hands around her wrists, or tugging at the hem of her Sacaean robes. "I'd like to offer my thanks for today. It's for all the times you've helped me. Nothing more, nothing less" she bowed her head as she said this, avoiding my gaze.

"It's alright, Lyn, thanks' for giving your all today as well," I said, feeling proud.

"But, while I'm at it, I should also thank you for giving me courage and never failing to be kind… to me…" she looked up and grabbed my hand, holding it between both of hers, shocking me.

"Those are rarer qualities than you may think! In fact…" she pulled me close. Too close…

"I think you are more precious to me as the breeze that blows across the open plains of Sacae…" she whispered, her lips close to my face, her passionate eyes looking down at me, misty.

"Oh my!" Lyn suddenly exclaimed, leaping back, her hands behind her back, a blush growing. I wonder if it was as red hot as mine. I doubt it. I felt like my cheeks would melt off…

"Pay me no mind!" she said urgently, waving her hands, "But, please, know that I'm always here for you, alright?" she said, solemnly.

"Uh-huh…" I grunted out, turning around stiffly. I shuffled across the hall, my neck rigid, in the same position Lyn had held it in, so close to her beautiful face…

Once out of sight of Lyn, I stopped and held myself up against a wall, panting, holding a hand to my erupting heart.

 _What in the actual hell?!_ I exclaimed in my head, trying to move past the looks Lyn gave me. _Where'd that all come from?_

After a moment of collecting my thoughts, I just notched it up to all the work she and I had done in the Tower. I realised I had favoured her with Camilla, Nowi and Elise in the higher levels, and had worked them harder than any other teams, just because they were all so powerful.

I tried to make my way back to my quarters, but my head was spinning, and I felt like I was in a thick fog. I must've bumped into three walls on the way to my room.

"Found you, Tazio!" I heard a small girl shout as I turned a corner. I sighed, and stumbled to my door.

"Hey, hello Nowi," I tried to say as evenly as possible, but I'm sure I sounded like a stupid mess. I slid down to the floor, and Nowi came over, looking down at me, looking pleased with herself.

"Hey! Let's play together! How about some hide-and-dragonseek?" Nowi asked, tugging at my hood.

"Maybe not tonight, missy," I said, gently getting her hand off my hood.

"Oh, um, tag?" she asked again, her smile faltering.

"No, how about we just… relax, eh? We all worked hard today, don't you think?" I said, a hand resting on my knee.

"Huh? You just want to chat? I like to run around a bunch, but… If that's what you want, we can do that!" she promptly sat next to me, her knees together, legs sticking out awkwardly. She grinned up at me, her teeth white and pointy.

"So you had a good time training today?" I asked her, my heart slowing down now.

"Sure I did! I got so big and strong, and everyone else was super tough too! Elise is so nice and pretty, and so is Camilla! She's so scary too, like her wyvern! Grrraaaahhh!" she said, trying to mimic the wyvern's growls. She snapped her fingers like a jaw up at me, making me laugh.

"You're a pretty good team. I know you'll all do great things here with the Order," I admitted as I pushed the Manakete's chomping hands away.

"Yeah!" Nowi said, putting a tiny fist into the air.

"That's the spirit," I nodded, feeling proud again.

"You know…" Nowi said, her tone getting serious. "I really love playing with you, Tazio…"

Alarm bells flashed and sounded off in my head. I could feel a twitch begin to develop under my left eye as I prayed no one found this little child talking to me like this.

"You're nice, and you're fun, and I feel safe with you!" Nowi said, looking up at me with a heartfelt look.

"Er, uh… and you're great to work with as well, Nowi…" I said, trying to be tactful but pleasant at the same time.

"Hmmm?" she cocked her head. "Awww! How sweet!" She pushed herself upright to hug me across my chest, nuzzling her head under my chin.

"If that's how we both feel, let's stick together forever and ever!" she exclaimed, over the moon.

"Uh, wait, can we talk about this? Maybe use different phrases?!" I tried to say, hands up high, not touching her.

Nowi let go, and stood up now. "Since I'm older, I'll be sure to keep you safe, Tazio!" she gave me a thumb up. "It's a promise!"

I could only gargle, my mind fritzing out.

The blonde Manakete nodded in approval, and skipped down the hall with a 'bye-bye', leaving me twitching and broken in front of my bedroom.

After an age had passed, I was finally able to pull myself inside, and began working on this chapter.

So I feel, now, I must write down that I hold no romantic, nor sexual feelings for any of the Heroes summoned to this realm. They are work colleagues, at must be respected as such!

Man, I wonder if the Order has a HR department… I would be so screwed if they found out what just happened…

In any case, I think it's clear that five-star Heroes that plateau their strength will, I guess, 'confess' to me, and I need to be vigilant from here on out.

I guess this kinda make's me the protagonist of a harem anime… Joy…

Well, at least I have the more troublesome Heroes out of the way now-

Oh, no, Camilla's back… I'm going to end writing here, and hide under my bed. Till next time!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Drums of War

After a night of tossing and turning dreading Camilla or some other Hero getting into my chambers, I finally got some shut eye in. I dreamt happily, of smiling, strong Heroes, surrounding me. Or, I can vaguely remember that as being in the dream. Dreams are weird…

After I leisurely ate breakfast next to Lissa (a grave mistake after I found a note on my back reading 'throw books at me'), I was called out to the courtyard by Anna. She looked severe, and was holding the end of her axe incredibly tightly.

"Listen up, everyone, I've gotten word that the Emblian Empire has invaded the World of Mystery," she informed Alfonse, Sharena and I. "They're seizing control of it's Heroes in hopes of using them to mount an attack on our kingdom. Unfortunately, they already possess one of that world's most important Heroes – Marth!" She slammed the head of her trusty axe into the ground to prove her point.

"The legendary Hero-King?" Alfonse asked. Anna nodded sombrely. "If Marth leads a charge on the Askran Kingdom, it would be devastating…" Alfonse pondered, hand on his chin.

"Well, so what if they have a legend on their side?" Sharena added. "We have one too. Our summoner here!" she finished, slapping me on the shoulder proudly.

"Hang on, don't we already have Marth here?" I asked, remembering seeing the noble prince sit a few seats down from me not ten minutes earlier, eating sausage and egg.

"The Heroes we summon are only spirits, in some regard. They have feelings, a mind and a body, but they aren't the real thing. The original forms of the Heroes reside within their gateways, kept in their world," Alfonse explained to me. "The Heroes we have are strong, but the originals can be even stronger, if the right conditions are met."

"So!" Anna grabbed our attention back. "Let's go to the World of Mystery and free their Heroes from Embla's control before things get out of hand. It's going to be a tough battle. I hope you're ready for this, Tazio." She looked at me, her head lowered, eyes staring into mine, concerned.

"I didn't spend all of yesterday training for nothing!" I said, puffing my chest out; only to suck it back in when I noticed it sticking out possibly a bit too much. I need to ask Anna if they have a gym or something here…

Anna let me bring along a four-person squad of Heroes. She explained I couldn't bring many more through the gateway, lest we brought too much attention to ourselves. I didn't quite understand what she meant, but I hurried back into the castle to fetch the Heroes I had the most luck with yesterday.

It didn't take long to find them. Lyn and Nowi were waiting in the great hall, and Camilla and Elise came out of the mess hall shortly after I entered. Gathering the team up, I told them of the mission, and we all hurried back into the courtyard.

Anna had our trusty cart ready to go. She and Alfonse were at the head of the cart, while Sharena was already in the back, waving at us. As I helped Nowi and Elise into the cart, following Lyn who deftly leapt in, I noticed the straw was gone, and bundles of camping equipment and rations were in the cart instead. After Elise tied her horse to the end of the cart to follow us, we headed out, Camilla flying above us, her wyvern screeching in delight.

On the trip back to the gateway, I was able to focus on each Hero individually, much like how I was able to look out to see a battlefield. Using my special sight, I could see my team's skills and proficiencies in attacking, defending, etc. It was kinda boring, but I found that all the Heroes had learnt all the skills they could, which was fortuitous.

I then looked to Sharena, who was chatting away to Elise as Nowi attempted futilely to tie her hair into a ponytail like hers. As I used my sight, I saw that Sharena had a silvery glow behind her, much like Camilla did, so I assumed she was similarly four-stars like her. Looking at Anna and Alfonse, I saw they were the same power-level as Sharena.

I briefly wondered if Hero-feathers could power them up like the Heroes I summoned, before I had an even stranger idea… What star-level was I? Was I a one-star, or five?

My thoughts were interrupted by Lyn, who sat down next to me, kneeling calmly and daintily. She kept her hands on her knees, and smiled at me.

"You are well then, Tazio? You slept soundly?" she asked, the sea breeze catching her green ponytail, splitting it magnificently against the clear blue sky.

"Ah-hahaha…" I could manage to say, just. "Like a babe… errr, baby, I meant!"

I wonder if I could learn sign language here? Would help me using my stupid, stupid mouth all the time…

"I can just imagine how peacefully you rested. You were hard at work all of yesterday with all the Heroes," Lyn said, turning to look ahead. "I can't thank you enough for your efforts,"

I'm sure you can imagine how hard my heart was beating, and how many buckets of seat seemed to be pouring off my forehead by then.

"Y-you made sure I knew last… last night, Lyn," I chocked out. My fists were shaking. I really am bad at talking to girls, this world of the last…

"Yes, I did…" Lyn looked down, then back to me. "I hope I wasn't out of line with what I said!" she asked urgently, her eyes big and concerned. "I just felt… compelled… to speak with my mind, my heart…"

"You don't say…" I said, averting my gaze. I could almost picture her coming up to me again, her face so close to mine, her body, nearly pressed up against mine, her bare legs pushing up to mine… This hurts to write, you have no idea…

"You talked to Tazio too?" Nowi suddenly piped up, abandoning her hair project. She crawled over to Lyn. Elise and Sharena were busy comparing their respective staff and lance.

"Isn't he the best little brother ever?!" She exclaimed, putting her hands onto my lap. I'm pretty sure I let out an audible whimper at that.

"Little brother?" Lyn asked, turning to Nowi.

"Yeah, I'm 1000 years old, and Tazio is nowhere near that old yet, so he gets to be my little brother!" Nowi explained to Lyn, crawling over my legs. I know she is completely innocent, and oblivious to everything in her child-like way but…

I could feel her bare tummy up against my crotch, and that is wrong in so many ways! Little Nowi is like a little sister to me, and she does this?! I'm glad we established some boundaries after the mission… I just hope she keeps to them… And maybe a new wardrobe is on order. I should talk to Oboro.

"Ahh, you are a Manakete then?" Lyn inquired, nodding.

"Oh! You know more dragons?" Nowi asked, her face lighting up.

"I do, and I'll tell you about them once you let Tazio up. I think he wants to be alongside Alfonse, for a change of scenery," Lyn suggested, waving to the front of the cart.

"Oh, ok. Have fun, lil brother!" Nowi said, rolling off me, her hair flopping onto her face as she did. I trembled onto my feet, a grin plastered onto my face, like a mask to hide the internal screaming.

I switched places with Anna, her got into the back to chat to the others. Alfonse gave me a glance as I sat down, my legs tense, shoulder locked.

"I didn't do anything to her, I swear…" I breathed to the Askr royal.

"I don't know what you mean, Tazio," Alfonse asked, truly confused.

"Then don't worry… We nearly at the port?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, we are. But, while I have you, Tazio… I want to warn you," Alfonse leaned in to me.

"Warn me? I said I didn't touch her!" I protested, hands raised defensively.

"I mean to warn you of the dangers of getting so close with all these Heroes!" Alfonse hissed at me.

"Close?" I asked, turning to look at the girls behind me, laughing as Anna pulled a coin from behind Nowi's ear.

"They aren't truly people. They're spirits, shadows. And they will leave you one day; most likely without warning," Alfonse instructed me, his eyes glaring at the road ahead.

"You mean if I send them home? Only I can send them back, with Breidablik," I said, pulling the gun out to prove a point.

"That isn't – Never mind. Just… try to keep them at an arm's length. You plan to head home yourself, don't you?" Alfonse said, looking me in the eyes now.

"I-I mean, yeah, one day, sure!" I was taken aback by his question once more.

"So focus on the love you can find back in your own World. Not the fantasies you'll find here," Alfonse said, the fire gone from his voice.

"Fantasies?" I looked back at Sharena, clapping as Nowi tried to look in Anna's ear.

"They aren't real, so neither are their feelings, Tazio. Illusions and ancient magic at work," he said as he brought the cart to a halt. I hadn't realised we'd arrived back in the port town.

The boat trip back to the gateway was quick, but my mind was in a haze. I excused myself from the others as we boarded, and looked up to the sky as we set sail.

My mind was adrift still as we entered the gateway, and Anna lead us to the location her scouts had said the invasion had begun.

As much as I think these entries will be private… I don't feel like sharing the thoughts I had during that time. Not yet. They aren't… clear enough. Whole enough.

And besides, I was about to enter a war.

The salty sea waves were crashing against the steep rocky embankments of the narrow stretch of land between two sea's we had found ourselves upon within the World of Mystery. I only noticed this and where I was after a youthful shout ran over the ocean sky to our party.

"I am Marth, Prince of Altea,"

I looked up to see in front of us, around a small pond, was Marth, Caeda and a grizzled silvery-haired man on a noble horse. I almost smiled and called out to my friends till I saw the bright-eyed prince point his sword at us, frowning.

"You must be with the Order of Heroes I've heard about. Princess Veronica told us about you. And, I assume you know all about the contract that binds us?"

"Maybe?" I called back without thinking.

"Heroes of a conquered world must obey their conqueror. But if you show us that you're more powerful than our conqueror, that will break the contract. That being said, we will battle our best!" Marth explained, gripping his fierce silvery sword in both hands now. His allies readied their weapons as well.

"Now, show us what you can do!"

"We found Marth, but it's too late!" Anna cried out beside me. My mental stupor wasn't quite shaken just yet, and I had forgotten the others were nearby. I pinched at my cheeks to snap myself awake as I saw in my peripherals my squad preparing themselves in front of me, ready for battle as well.

"We'll get the troops behind us, Tazio. You focus on Marth!" I heard Alfonse say briskly behind me.

"Wa-what?" I spun and saw several Emblian soldiers appear from behind the fern trees swaying on the sea breeze. They laughed menacingly, pleased their trap had worked. I could see five soldiers with varying weapons approaching.

"Tazio! Focus!" Sharena cried out as a sword holding fighter swung across her lance, a screech of metal ripping down my ears.

I was at a loss. My mind was swirling, the sudden change tripping me up, making me feel like I was spiralling down a multicoloured hole, with no clear picture before me.

"Tazio, you can do this! We need you!"

I don't know who actually said this. But it woke me up.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, the salt covering my lips, the fresh air, heavy but alive, filling my lungs. I opened them, and could see the battlefield once more.

"Camilla, intercept the horseman before he reaches Lyn!" I called out.

The bewitching beauty whistled her wyvern into the air, her axe hanging low. With two beats of the reptilian's wings, she sat in front of Lyn, who held her Sol Katti sword low, her gaze narrowed.

The silvery-haired man galloped around the pond, his lance held forward and steady, a grizzled battle-cry roaring along with him. His horse kicked back the tough grass as it tore ahead.

"Wait, Jagen!" Marth tried to call out, but the pious knight, his spiked armour pauldrons glinting in the mid-day sunlight, either didn't care or couldn't hear over the sounds of battle.

"Naughty, naughty," Camilla purred. Her wyvern pounced skyward on it's muscular legs, dodging Jagen's lance. The old man scowled at the woman just above him, but carried onwards, straight towards Lyn.

"Bank and hit him!"

Camilla tilted her beast to the right, a single wing dipping to the floor, rigging through the waving grass with it's nail-like wing tips. Camilla smirked, and swung her axe across the head of her mount, and into the shoulder of Jagen, like a pendulum of a clock.

The veteran knight grunted in pain, and swerved past Lyn, his lance swaying as he struggled to regain control of his horse now he was sans an arm.

"Slash him!"

Lyn, her knees low, a hand on the floor, pounced onto Jagen's steed. She ran her golden blade across it's flanks, the weapon barely moving, yet it left a massive gash across the creature's flesh.

Jagen wasn't down yet, however. Using the horse's fall, he jabbed up at Camilla, who still flapped beside the warrior. He pierced Camilla's shoulder, making her wince and recoil in pain, yanking her wyvern's reigns in response.

As Jagen fell to the floor, fading as he went, Camilla rolled her steed into the floor behind Lyn. She and the beast tumbled and crashed messily across the ground, till Nowi transformed and quickly held the two still with her powerful forearms.

"No…" I looked to Elise. "Heal them, please!"

"Right away!" Elise said with a nod of her head, her ponytails bobbing. She looked serious as she held her healing staff to her older sister (oh, btw, Elise and Camilla are siblings!), a green glow enveloping the wyvern rider as the young girl recited a hymn in another language.

"Nowi, move forward!" I called out, my mind back on the battle.

"Jagen…" Marth muttered. "Caeda, please, lend me your strength!" He urged, looking up to his childhood friend.

"Of course, my dear…" she said, a single tear dropping from her face, looking to where Jagen had fallen.

"Like we trained!" Marth called out as he began to race around the pond as well. Caeda only took flight upon her Pegasus, and made a bee-line for Camilla, her pronged sword gripped tightly.

I looked at Lyn, and saw how close she was.

"The tree!" I cried, hoping the agile noblewoman understood.

Lyn sheathed her weapon, a single hand on the hilt at the ready, and she ran for the tree, passing by Nowi as she stomped around the still dazed Camilla, her eyes fluttering behind her lavender hair.

Just as Caeda flapped over one of the fir trees besides the rocky coast, Lyn, as quick as a panther, sprinted, bounded and flew off the sturdy, ocean-tested branches and into Caeda's path. The wing-princess balked, and tried to reign her mount away, but it was too late.

Lyn swiped at Caeda in an arcing motion, her powerful attack sending her into a spin mid-air. The blue-garbed plainswoman used the momentum to twist down, and then back up into a deadly uppercut.

Caeda was knocked off her Pegasus, and then backwards, into the fir tree, her plate armour taking the majority of the attack, cracking straight down the middle. The Pegasus flapped away with a startled whiney, it's reigns free of human hands.

As Lyn landed on the ground gracefully, not a single strand of hair out of place, Nowi assaulted Marth. She sucked in deeply before shooting out a stream of lightning at the Altean prince. The young man quickly sidestepped, his cape singed by the stream as it passed him, striking and turning the ground behind him to glass.

Nowi tried to blast the quick man again and again, turning her massive frame cumbersomely to follow the Hero's movements, only for Marth to dodge or duck out of the way.

"There, all better!" I heard Elise say to my side. In my vision, I could see Camilla get back onto her steed, thanking her little sister as she did.

"Elise, we need to slow down Marth!" I informed the small princess.

"Oh, ok, gotcha!" Elise said cheerfully, her staff glowing.

Before Marth could get close enough to strike at Nowi, Elise galloped up behind the dragon on her pony, her staff held high.

"Gravity!" she called out.

A purple wave of power rippled up, looking like a slinky, (I guess?) and down onto Marth. He winced, and looked like a great force was pushing down onto his whole body; his feet drove furrows into the ground, and he tried to hold himself up on his sword.

He looked up, his face sagging from the magic, still determined, as Nowi growled down at him.

She blasted a lengthy arc of electricity down upon Marth. The initial blast pushed the prince back to the pond, out of the range of the gravity attack. His silver sword, stuck in the ground, was slagged, goblets of metal running down the boiling weapon as the dragon breath enveloped it.

Marth struggled back onto his feet, trembling, his cape smouldering, grime covering his boyish face. He looked straight across the stretch of land at me, hobbling on one foot, one eye starting to bruise.

"Well… well done," he managed to say, just loud enough for me to hear. Caeda swooped down suddenly, back on her Pegasus, her left shoulder sagging. She landed in front of Marth, letting him climb aboard, slowly, but well before Nowi could swipe at them. The two of them took to the sky then, and Marth swivelled back to look at us all.

"I expected as much from you. But our battles are far from over. The next time you see me, we will settle this once and for all," he informed us all. The young man looked back to Caeda, and I could just hear him mutter a tender 'thank you' to her. She just nodded, and flew away, across the sea, to lands in the distance.

"Wait, no, he's getting away!" I heard Alfonse cry out behind me.

Refocussing my vision to my perspective, I turned and looked to the Askr trio and their battle.

Sharena blocked an arrow from hitting her with a shield made into the Askr crest, and retaliated, her lance piercing the archer's chest, vanishing him. Anna picked up her axe from where it landed after she hurled it into an already vanished foe. Alfonse was sheathing his sword, looking at the shrinking Archanean royalty (Archanea was another name for the continent we were on).

"How could you let him get away, he is the centrepiece to Veronica's army here!" Alfonse complained, gesturing to where Marth had headed.

"They escaped. We'll go get him soon, I promise," I snapped at him.

"How did he escape? You had more numbers on him! What happened to you, Tazio?"

I turned onto the whinging prince, more angry than I had any right to be.

"Oh, I'm sorry, is your Great Hero not up to scratch? Are my tactic's too imaginary? Is what these fantasy Hero's do too little for the might prince of Askr!"

Alfonse glowered. "What is that supposed to mean…"

"Don't get attached to heroes. We're not real, right?" I whispered into Alfonse's face, harshly, teeth bared. "Am I not real then? I'm a copy of the me from my world? Am I a phantasm for your play war, Alfonse?"

"Grrr…" Alfonse huffed. "You aren't a phantasm… You were called here, Tazio. You are a real person,"

"And what _my_ Heroes did here is real too! Don't give up on them because they _might_ leave…" I ordered before turning on my heel to tend to the squad.

Now, after all the action, I'm not sure why I snapped at Alfonse. Did what he said on the trip over really get under my skin, or was I just flustered? I don't know, even now.

In any case, the squad was fine. Camilla and her wyvern, Corrin, apparently, were back into tip top shape. Lyn was picking bristles out of her robes, and Nowi, returned to normal, rushed up to me, her big eyes fearful. Elise stood behind her, nervously gripping her stave.

"Are you ok, Tazio? Why're you so angry?" the manakete asked, concerned.

"No reason… Come on, we have to catch up to Marth. Elise, make sure the Askran's are healed as we move," I said as I looked ahead, trying to find a path forward.

"Oh… ok," Elise responded, her voice breaking. She hurried to her horse, and to the back of the group.

I set off, expecting the others to follow me, aiming for the mountains Marth had flown for.

A half-hour into the trip, after the sea fell away behind a lush, bird filled forest, I decided to look over my shoulder, and saw that everyone was still behind me. Alfonse was the furthest behind me, looking at his boots as he walked. Sharena was darting her eyes from me to him all the while, looking like a lost puppy.

Elise came up to me, her horse stepping in time with me. She looked down at me, her cheeks puffing up angrily, like a squirrel, I guess.

"Don't get so mad!" she finally said down to me.

"You don't know why I'm mad, Elise," I said, grimacing at the small girl.

"That shouldn't stop you from being friends with Alfonse. When my older brother got mad at me, he didn't stop caring about me! We all make mistakes, you know?" the princess tried to explain to me, her eyes crinkling with emotions.

"Mistakes… no, Alfonse didn't make a mistake. He's just a fool…" I said, still bound by my rage.

"Hmph! You're a fool! A big, stupid fool!" Elise bounced on her horse's back in protest. She turned her horse around and headed for the comfort of Camilla. I just rolled my eyes and grumbled.

Next, Lyn came up to me, and tried to soothe me, telling me that the anger I was feeling would just make the next few fights harder than they had to be. She tried to get me to breathe and focus on nature around me, like those on the plains she'd grown up with.

I just rudely ignored her.

Guy of the year, everybody.

Nowi tried to cheer me up after Lyn quietly fell behind me, her arms wrapped around her.

"Hey, wanna play a guessing game as we walk, Tazio?" the girl asked, reaching up to hold my hand.

But, I did a stupid.

I recoiled at Nowi's light touch, stepping away from the frightened manakete.

"Damn it, Nowi, why do you have to touch me all the damned time!" I cursed at her. The poor thing was frozen by shock, her mouth agape, her eyes getting watery.

"Don't you think such a small girl, dressed like you are, would raise questions the more you-you grabbed and touched me?! Give me some space!" I roared down at her, making her flinch. She bowed her head, and began sobbing to the floor, gasping out a 'Sorry' before scurrying away to hide behind Lyn.

I immediately regretted all I'd said, and only got angrier at myself. I turned and charged into the undergrowth by myself now, seething.

I didn't get far before Anna grabbed my shoulder and roughly pushed me into a tree trunk.

"What is going on!" she demanded, pointing a finger at me, staring me down. I cast my eyes down.

"Can't I just be angry?" I said, sulkily. I must've sounded like a spoilt kid at that point.

"No, we are at war, Tazio! So tell me what is happening so you, and all of us can move on to our actual mission," the Order's commander said, letting go of my shoulder now.

I sighed, trying to figure out what to say. I finally blurted out, "Am I real?"

"Of course you are," Anna said sweetly after a moments consideration.

"I'm not an illusion, like the other Heroes?" I breathed, biting back the emotion, remembering the words of my father.

"Oh, no, have you been talking to Alfonse? Did he tell you to not get attached?"

"Huh? Yeah…?"

"Tazio, listen up," Anna put a hand on my hooded head and tilted me up to look at her serious face, before she smiled at me. "Alfonse isn't correct. He's just a little hurt from some things that he's gone through. Being a prince can be tough business, and being surrounded by super-powered Heroes as a child can leave quite an impression. So when he grew up, his idols didn't quite meet his expectations. He has a kind of chip on his shoulder because of it," Anna explained, still smiling down at me.

"So he doesn't know what he's talking about then?" I finalised.

"No, no, he is somewhat right. But that can't stop you from making bonds, friendships, and feelings for all these Heroes, even if they do head home some day or another," she continued with a shake of her head.

"This Order would be nothing if we didn't bond together, using each other's strengths and skills to support one another. And we cannot do that if we don't care for one another, right?"

I suddenly thought back to Chrom, on the night I summoned everyone.

"Our bonds, our feelings, make us more than warriors; it makes us Heroes. Don't you agree?" she said with a wink, her finger in her trademark pose.

"I-yeah… Yeah, I guess you're right…" I muttered. My stupidity knew no bounds.

"Time to apologise, summoner," Anna said, pushing me out of the undergrowth, bursting back onto the cleared path we were on.

I was about to apologise to everyone, when I heard a growl. I barely got out of the way of one of Nowi's smaller lightning breaths.

"You're a big meanie, Tazio!" I heard her say telepathically, her maw agape, glowing again. "You said that we'd be together forever last night, and then you be a huge meanie to everyone?"

"Last night?" Anna asked, curious.

"Spoken out of context…" I murmured, not taking my eyes off the dragon.

"Ladies, you're right, I was a right as- erm, meanie…" I said, remembering the youth around me. "None of you needed me to snap at you like that. I'm sorry I did that…"

I looked each of them in the eye. "I trust you all, and respect your power too much to think little of you. Without any of you, I'm sure I'd be dead ten-times over my now. So, once again, from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry," I looked to the back, and the sullen Alfonse. "To all of you."

"What do you think, should we accept his apology?" Lyn asked, turning to the others, eyebrow raised, arms still wrapped around her.

Nowi stomped forward, and I feared the worst, till she transformed back into her human form, shuffling to stand before me.

"If…" she started to say, struggling, her face burning up. "If- if you pat my head, I'll forgive you!"

While once I was terrified, now my heart melted for the little blonde. Without a word, a smile warming me up, I obliged her, and gently patted the top of her head, much to her enjoyment. I swear her elongated ears twitched as I did so.

Nowi surried away, head down, only for Elise to replace her. "I want a hug!" she demanded, her balled fists by her sides.

I chuckled, and held her close, patting her back as she tightened her arms around me. She leapt back, and jabbed me in the stomach, poking her tongue out at me. "No more being a big jerk!" she ordered before returning to Camilla.

I walked up to Lyn. She didn't look at me at first.

"I am truly thankful for you trying to help me relax before, Lyn. You're such a kind person, I hope you know that," I said, my arms pressed to my sides, bowing. I knew I had offended her, but I hoped we could overcome it all.

I was incredibly surprised to find Lyn pulling me in close, her verdant hair running over my nose under my hood, her face to my ear.

"It's ok, Tazio. Just don't scare us like that. We need you, more than you realise."

She gave me a comforting, reaffirming squeeze, and stepped away. I looked to Camilla.

"You didn't insult me, darling," she said, flicking a ribbon of hair over her shoulder, nonchalantly. "Smart move," she finished with a wink.

I laughed nervously, wondering why so many of the women in the order where borderline psychopathic, or wanted to maim me… I need to try a whole men team someday…

Anna got the convoy moving once more, as I lagged behind, looking at Alfonse. He hadn't looked at me at all yet.

"You go on ahead, Sharena. We'll be alright," I said, nodding for the caring, worried girl to move on.

She nodded, but still glanced back at us, her brow furrowed. I can understand why she was so concerned. Not from personal experience, mind, but I could get the gist.

"So… yeah…" I started, knowing how awkward I sounded. I had literally nothing to go off of with Alfonse.

"Yep."

"So, we fought…"

"Indeed."

"And I said some things I… regretted,"

"Really?"

"But, that wasn't right. I was angry, and a little bit selfish. But, I think we need to talk about this. And I mean, really talk about it."

"Mmmm…"

"I don't think you should give up on these Hero's so easily, Al. We were all called here, away from our homes, and decided to fight in this war for your home. We will strive to do our best while here, but the lure of home, of comfort, it will call for each and every one of them."

Alfonse was silent. I could only hear the scrapping of his boots on the ground and his armour clinking together quietly.

"But, not me."

"What?" Alfonse turned around to look at me, his face lighting up.

"I have no plans on going home at this point, and I don't think I ever will," I said with a shrug. "I never enjoyed my life in my World. I came from a broken home, I was never popular or particularly successful as a writer. Sure, I was summoned as I was about to win a lottery, but what would I do with that? I had no real aspirations for my life,"

"What?!" Alfonse repeated, louder.

"But here…" I looked around myself, basking in it all; the rainbow of birds hopping and fluttering in the ancient, mystic forest, at the cobwebs overflowing with dew, at the mysterious sounds creaking through the dark undergrowth of animals I might not be able to imagine. "This is straight out of a fairy-tale! Dragons, princes and princess, pegasi and evil empires, all while exploring new and wonderous worlds with different landscapes? I have stepped into an 'another world' anime! I am literally Kazuma right now!"

I laughed heartily, breathing in the freshest air I had ever breathed, wore the most comfortable clothes I had ever worn, and talked to one of the greatest friends I had ever had.

I put my hand on Alfonse's shoulder, and looked him dead in his wide, confused eyes.

"So I promise you; I will not leave you, Anna, nor Sharena. Ever."

Alfonse looked between both of my eyes, darting between them like a tennis spectator. Was he trying to tell if I was lying? All I know was he was pleased, smiled, and put a hand onto my shoulder.

"I hold you to your word, then, Tazio,"

"Deal," I held my hand out to the prince. He gripped it, and shook it firmly.

Before we stood apart again, I heard before me, louder than she had to be; "Ooooh bromance!"

Sharena jumped backwards into her brothers arm and mine, letting us catch her.

"I am so happy you made up. And you're better friends than ever! Maybe even… best friends?" she said as she wrapped an arm around both our necks.

"Errr…" I mumbled.

"Let's… not go too far…" Alfonse said, looking aside.

"Ahhh, you're both shy about it. It's alright, you can be brother's in arms, I have all my sister's in arms! No need to feel left out!" Sharena leapt off us, and back into the gaggle of girls, who began laughing at her outburst.

"Tazio?"

"Yes, Al?"

"Do you understand girls?"

"No, Al, I do not…"

"Right…"

"Don't you know? You grew up with her?"

"My sister isn't a girl, she is a force of love and friendship,"

"Like a Care Bear?"

"What's a Care Bear? Or a lottery, or anime, for that matter? And who's Kazuma?"

"Um, that's an explanation for another day. When Anna isn't around…"

I physically shudder now at the thought of Anna running a lottery.

It didn't take long for our group to pass through the trees, and into a clearing with a stream running through it. A mill sat at the entrance of the stream to the clearing, it's waterwheel turning lazily. The whole scene would have been idyllic had it not been for the small band of soldiers guarding the twin bridges across the river.

I quickly ordered the Heroes to mobilise into a formation as I surveyed the arena of combat. I saw one unique, heavily muscular man guarded the southern bridge, while a generic axe fighter guarded the northern bridge, and a bow fighter sat across the river, pacing.

"Ho, strangers!" the muscular man, probably a mercenary, I guessed, called out to us.

I winced, as I saw the generic fighters turn to look at the recently arrived Heroes, weapons already readied.

"You follow my employer, Lord Marth?" the mercenary man called out, despite us not answering him.

"Ignore him, and get ready. Lyn, to the north, Nowi, south. Camilla, you have a tougher job," I muttered so our foes couldn't hear.

"I am Ogma, and you will not cross us! Lord Marth is a good man, too good to an old gladiator like myself. Fight me, if you must, but know this; you will fail in your mission," Ogma announced, raising what looked like a brave sword, a twin-sided blade with wires running down the face instead of pure steel, like Cain's weapon of choice.

"Geez, life-story much?" I mumbled to myself. I turned to the others, and noticed Anna and the Askr siblings looking behind us, just in case we were ambushed once more. I nodded to Alfonse, trusting him once more.

"Ok, attack!" I called out with a wave of my hand. In a flash, the fighting began, which I could witness from my birds-eye view.

Lyn sprinted across the open plain, her weapon already drawn. The axe fighter readied himself, but it was already too late. Lyn practically vanished before my eyes, only to dance around the fighter, leaping off and around the supports of the short bridge.

She leapt and danced, faster and faster, till I could swear I saw five copies of Lyn encircle the terrified axe fighter before she appeared before him, her sword running the soldier through.

"I- Lyn knows Double Team?" I breathed, knowing full well no-one else would understand me.

I focused upon Nowi now. She tore down to Ogma, her claws ripping her forward, her tail and wings flapping and swaying as she gained speed.

Ogma clenched his sword in both hands, his muscles rippling across his tanned skin. He grimaced, his scars crinkling and distorting around his face.

Nowi let loose a salvo of electricity, which Ogma dodged, flinging himself head-first into the dirt.

Nowi didn't stop, her yellow-green jaws snapping in anticipation.

Ogma didn't slow, kicking himself up, charging into Nowi, his sword held high, a bear-like battle-cry coming from his throat. He slashed at Nowi's underbelly twice, the sword whistling through the air cleanly and swiftly, letting him strike faster than an average person.

Nowi was unfazed, and slashed at the burly man. He jumped backwards savagely, landing like a gorilla, only to power himself ahead with his sword's tip buried into the ground. He grasped hold of Nowi's spindly limb, and used it to flip himself over the dragon's back, slashing at her underarm as he did so, causing her to snarl and cry out in pain.

Ogma now stood atop Nowi's back, and from his vantage point, he hacked away at the poor manakete's wings. Nowi, having enough, shrugged backwards, sending the man flying into the dirt. She followed this with a smash with her heavy tail, till Ogma rolled out of the way.

He returned to his feet effortlessly, looking as build and as strong as an ox, but as quick as a jaguar.

Despite myself, I whistled aloud, impressed. I still wanted Nowi to win, obviously, but damn was Ogma a badass.

Feeling the need to step in now, however, I called out to her.

"Keep him at bay with lightning!"

Nowi reacted, a blast of lightning streaming in an arc at Ogma. He leapt back from the deadly plasma as it made an arcing pattern. She kept the pattern up, pressing Ogma further and further back, till he jumped once too quickly, and stumbled.

Nowi lunged at the mercenary, teeth first, and grabbed the meaty man in her jaws. She lifted the helpless prey into the air as he yelled and swatted at her face with his sword, but just didn't have the power with his chest being crushed.

Finally, Nowi ended it, her powerful jaw squeezing shut, making Ogma fade away.

Now that the support was gone, I looked to Camilla.

"Ready for something crazy?"

"Now you're speaking my language, sweetie," she said, seating herself into a racing pose on her Corrin.

After a brief explanation of the plan, Camilla jetted off, her wyvern low to the ground.

The archer on the other side of the river, seeing his comrades fall, looked petrified as Camilla raced towards him. He struggled to notch an arrow, but Camilla dove under the cover of the banks.

Just before she reached the edge of the other side, Camilla and her wyvern dived once more, using her beasts tail and legs to drive a curtain of water skyward.

Using this shield, Camilla arced into the air, flipped upside down, her hair swaying around her head like poisonous seaweed, only to circle back around; a barrel roll.

Picking up speed, Camilla crashed through the wall of water, axe at the ready, and lobbed the archer's body in half, turning him into points of light in an instant.

Sometimes, I hope that our foes aren't traumatised by what my Heroes do to them. Then I remember most of them are evil, and I sleep soundly.

The battle finished, everyone gathered on the other side of the river.

"So Marth left that Ogma to defend us from him?" Alfonse commented, pulling out a map from Anna's collection of things.

"Sounded like it. He might have had half a chance, if it wasn't Nowi he had to fight!" I commented, tussling the kid's hair as I said that, making her giggle in delight.

Looking down at the map with Alfonse, we found where we were, roughly. Turned out, we were close to Marth's home of Altea. We just had to cross through a small section of desert before we reached the centre of Marth's homeland.

"The problem being the mages there…" Alfonse murmured as he looked at the small village in said desert.

"With this team, what could go wrong?" I said, looking back to the smiling champions of Askr around me.

Man, with them all being women, I guess I am becoming Kazuma…

We all took a swig of stamina potion, and pressed on, hoping to be finished with the mission by nightfall.

We reached the desert with no trouble. And the sand wasn't too tough to traverse, being hardened in most places. But, as we reached what looked like an oasis, the ground became looser, and I saw a sand-twister kick up before us, twirling between some palm trees.

Appearing out of the sand, his book held high, was Merric, his blue robes standing out in the dusty yellow environment. Next to him was a young woman with chestnut coloured hair, in a pink, simple dress. Joining them, a woman in black atop a horse wielded a stave, a square hat covering the top of her head, reminding me of old nun outfits.

While the twin mages of Merric and Linde (Alfonse informed me of who she was) might have been a little intimidating at first, my team made short work of them.

Lyn, used to such open expanses, skimmed across the sand to strike Merric down before he knew what had happened. While wounded, the wind mage was able to escape in a stream of sand, in the direction we were headed. I let the poor kid go. He wasn't too much of a threat.

Camilla wheeled over the palm trees, dodging Linde's blasts of light attacks from her Aura tome, till Nowi stomped unsteadily over to the light-mage, ending her as well. Properly this time.

Elise felt the need to see combat, so I let her gallop out to the defenceless troubadour at the back of the battlefield, not quick enough to heal her allies.

The peppy girl clonked the woman over the head with her staff, who just sat there, taking the loony-tunes-esqe beating like a champ, till she and her horse vanished.

"Moving on," I said as my powerful team returned to me.

We strolled through the rest of the desert without incident, coming to a wooded, peaceful part of the country. Alfonse informed me we were nearing the borders of Altea.

Reaching twin ponds that lead up to the castle, we found our way blocked by Altean knights; Cain, another knight with a brave lance named Able (ha, as if they'd be paired together!) and an archer boy named Gordin, also wielding a brave weapon, a bow.

Moving around a small cliff, I sent Nowi, with back up from Elise, around the western pond, to intercept Gordin and Cain. Lyn and Camilla moved up between the twin pools to assault Able and a lone sword Pegasus rider. Anna quietly excused Alfonse, Sharena and herself to a line of trees, hoping to sneak around and spy on the castle's defence's, and hopefully Marth's whereabouts.

Nowi was able to smash away Cain with a swipe of her claws, sending the brash knight into the pool, only to dissipate after struggling for a moment in the cool blue waters. Gordin let loose twin arrows against Nowi; except the average-sized arrows simply bounced off of the dragon, allowing her to focus on the young boy instead, her muzzle tilting to look across the pond, mouth already glowing.

Lyn and Camilla charged down the middle of the small lakes. Camilla intercepted the lancing Able, knocking him off his horse with her axe, only for Lyn to pounce atop him and skewer the green-armoured knight. Camilla flew on, engaging the sword holding Pegasus-rider. Despite the disadvantage, Camilla held her own, dodging the lunges and swings of the rider, before getting the sky-knight to follow her into a dive, across the lake, water whipping under her and Corrin. She returned to the thin stretch of land where Lyn waited, sword at the ready. As she flew across, Lyn leapt up to slice at the rider behind her, dissolving her and her Pegasus in moments.

Nowi, meanwhile, was blasting at Gordin across the lake. The nimble boy bounced and lurched out of the way, getting singed and burnt all the while, not quick enough, his brave weapon slowing him with its weight.

Nowi didn't relent, peppering the small piece of land Gordin sat on, leaving streaks of burnt earth. Gordin was finally hit by a breath attack to the chest, and was launched backwards, tumbling through the air. He crashed against a tree trunk, smoke pouring off his chest, but he somehow managed to get up, and hobble into the cover of trees, vanishing.

"I'm sorry, he got away…" Nowi murmured, back in human form as she walked back to me.

"It's quite alright. He probably won't be able to do much after that attack," I commented, looking up to the castle in the distance, it's grey brick-work clear to see against the brilliantly blue sky.

Once Anna and the others returned, I got an idea of the castle's grounds.

Before the castle was a small stretch island with a moat. It was some sort of staging area for mock battles, but it was being used for real this time. Marth and Caeda, alongside Merric, were standing guard on the island. If we pushed ahead, along the path before us, we'd reach a set of bridges that ran around the island.

"We could sneak around and attack from behind, using a bridge onto their islands to cut them down in an instant," Anna told me after drawing a diagram in the dirt.

"No," I said, firmly, crossing my arms.

"Wait, why not?" Sharena asked, peering down at the drawing, picking up a stick of her own to add pictures.

"We have to beat Marth honourably. If we win a fight against them with a sneak attack, I don't think it'll be enough to break his contract with Princess Veronica. He was really gung-ho about a fair fight from the start, so maybe he was telling us how to free him?" I postulated.

"That makes sense to me…" Alfonse said, hands to hips, thinking.

"Well, let's get in there and fight!" Elise perked up behind me.

"Charging ahead doesn't sound like a good strategy to me…" Anna commented, fiddling with her axe.

"We'll be alright, Anna," I consoled her. "We have too good a team to fail!"

As soon as we made our way up to the castle, reaching the forked bridges, I could see the island before us.

Marth, Caeda, Merric, and a revitalised Gordin stood at the ready, behind their prince, ready to defend their home.

"You've done well to make it this far," Marth called out to us, holding to the pommel of a beautiful sword now. I heard Alfonse gasp in a surprised breath as he saw the weapon as well.

"Clearly, you people are dedicated to the cause of peace. In truth, that speaks to my heart. We are kindred spirits," Marth continued. I'm not entirely sure why he believed we sought peace. Maybe that was Marth trying to break free of his contract, and tell us to defeat him, to save Askr? I'm only guessing here.

"I wish we had met as allies. But I must abide by the contract that binds us until it is broken," Marth carried on. "Can you break it, I wonder? It's time to find out with an honest battle. Do your best. And I, and my friends, will do ours!"

Marth pulled his blade free of it's scabbard, setting it aglow.

"Tazio, Marth is wielding Falchion now!" Alfonse whispered frantically to me. "That holy blade is a dragon killer, and heals its wielder!"

"It what?" I asked, despite knowing full well what I was just told. I looked down to Nowi, and she shrunk back at the sight of the blade, behind my legs, gripping the fabric tightly.

"Ok, Nowi, I won't let that sword get anywhere near you. I promise," I said, solemnly as I bent down to pat the girls head.

"Alright, team, are we all ready?" I cried out. There was a resounding cry behind me. I stepped back, close to the mouth of the path we came from, and looked down at the battlefield.

I set Nowi across the right bridge, to combat Gordin and Merric with her ranged breath attacks. Elise backed her up, ready to heal her new friend.

Lyn and Camilla guarded the left bridge, ready to meet anyone that came that way. Alfonse and Sharena backed them up, while Anna stood before me, in case Caeda flew straight at me instead.

Merric and Gordin took the bait, and launched their attacks at Nowi. Gordin once again did no damage, and was blasted away instantly this time, unable to dodge on such a small strip of land.

Merric's Excalibur tome whipped up a deadly torrent of wind around Nowi, however, tearing at her scales and limps, making her growl in pain. She retaliated as soon as the assault ended, blasting Merric into the moat, and nothingness.

But she was badly hurt, so Elise came to patch her up in a flash.

Caeda took to the air, and dive-bombed Camilla. She glanced off of Camilla, shaking and spinning her, but not harming her too much.

It seemed Lyn was her real target.

Leaping off her mount, and falling onto her combatant, Caeda brought the jagged armour-slaying sword came down onto Lyn, who was unable to see the attack from under Camilla's wyvern.

The swordswoman was knocked to the ground, pinned underneath the sword, one of its teeth digging into the dirt, the blade across Lyn's slender neck.

Caeda was ruthless, and ended Lyn, snapping the sword down onto her like a guillotine.

"Lyn!" I cried out, but she had already vanished. I knew she was fine, back at the castle already, but seeing a friend fall was distressing.

Camilla and Sharena dove onto Caeda now, but the deep-blue haired princess leapt out of the way, letting Camilla and Sharena crash into each other, before I could stop them.

Caeda clambered back into her mount as it galloped up into the sky. She flapped back to Marth, picking him us with an outstretched arm, only to fling him over to meet Nowi on the right bridge.

As Alfonse struggled to pull Sharena out from under Corrin's wings, I called for Elise to use her gravity attack upon Marth again. Unfortunately, she was still singing her healing hymn for Nowi, and couldn't change attacks so quickly.

Marth landed lightly in front of Nowi, her cuts from Excalibur slowly closing. She rounded to look at Marth, but her dragon eyes darkened in fear at the sight of the Falchion, making her stumble backwards.

Elise galloped away from the retreating, crushing steps of Nowi, her staff's glow fading. She was able to get close to me, panting, fearful, looking back to Nowi, and the approaching Marth.

Marth, before Nowi could react, launched himself into the air, the Falchion rising up across her belly, till he reached the height of his jump, where he flicked the tip of the blade across her chest, slicing deeply across her chest. He looked like a dolphin, jumping out of water, his weapon the tip of its nose.

Nowi roared a gurgling cry of pain, the Falchion's wound glowing a white light. She tilted backwards, reverting back to a small girl as she fell. I tried to run up and catch her, but Anna stopped me with a hand to my shoulder. And she was right. Nowi was already gone.

Tears streaming from her eyes, Nowi faded away just before she smacked into the dirt. Marth landed right after she would have, his cape billowing behind him dramatically. He flicked the blade clean, splattering small drops of blood into the moat. He looked over to me, stern. His face a mask.

Caeda, still in the sky, came around to pick Marth up once more.

"Camilla!" I roared, my emotions getting the better of me. The black-clad warrior, back on her wyvern, launched directly at Caeda, a snarl on her lips. Before Caeda could turn around, the axe-swinging lady smashed into the Pegasus, whipping feathers and cries of pain across the air.

Camilla tore at Caeda, her axe smashing and slicing at the princess as her wyvern clawed and smacked its wings into the Pegasus. Caeda could only shriek in pain as she was slashed at again, her arm up trying to stop the attacks.

"Caeda!" I heard Marth cry, terror pitching his voice as he looked up at the mid-air melee. He quickly punctured his boot with Falchion, crying out in pain. He looked up at Caeda, with a look of fiery determination. Reaching up for a broach holding his cape up, he vanished!

I looked across the battlefield, trying to find where the prince had gone, only to find him reappear right in front of the savage Camilla.

"Get off of her!" he roared, his radiant sword coming down onto the snapping snout of her Wyvern. The blow cleanly defeated Corrin, sending it dropping into the moat like a rock as Camilla reached out desperately for Marth.

She vanished under the waves, disappearing into spots of light as the water covered her.

In mere seconds, what had been an unbeatable team, had been reduced to the Askr trio, and a healer. I already felt defeated, balling my hands in fury as I could feel control of the battlefield slipping away.

"Anna, can you take Caeda out?" I asked my protector.

"I could, but I'd lose my weap-" Anna began.

"Do it! Sharena, aim for Caeda, we need her gone!" I called out.

In the sky, I could see Marth, sitting on the frazzled Pegasus, trying to tend to Caeda who gingerly tried to reach up and touch his cheek.

With a grunt of exertion, Sharena and Anna hurled their weapons at the Pegasus. Both struck the weary beast, making it whinney in pain and confusion. Caeda gasped as Sharena's lance ripped through a wing, and into her side, right before Marth's shocked eyes. She vanished, alongside her steed, dropping Marth back onto the island he started on. He looked down, unbelieving at his hands that had just held onto Caeda. He turned to look across the moat, at the five of us.

He leapt over the moat, using his sword to fling him higher with his dolphin leap. Landing on the edge of the moat, he readied his sword, teeth bared.

Alfonse strolled in front of me, his sword at the ready as well.

"Prince Marth," he said, looking at one of his idols.

"Prince Alfonse…" he said, slowly stepping forward.

"I wish we had met under better circumstances as well. You have been a model for how I become a prince in my kingdom," Alfonse said as he stepped in, ready for the duel.

"I am glad I can inspire others," he said, widening his stance, gripping the Falchion.

"It pains me having to fight you like this…" Alfonse added, before stepping forward, bringing his sword to Marth's head.

The Altean prince blocked it with a parry. He twisted the sword away, and jabbed at Alfonse. He swivelled out of the way, blocking the slash Marth changed into, flicking Marth away with his own sword. He followed with a swing into his opponent's side, which connected as Marth avoided falling backwards into the moat.

He winced, and knocked the weapon away, holding a hand to his side, one eye open as the pain took him. But, Falchion began to glow one more, as golden particles flowed off of the weapon and across the wound.

"Finish this quick, Al!" I called out as I saw the flesh knit back together. "Go for his weaker side!"

Alfonse went in for a brutal attack, swinging at Marth's Falchion, which he could hold barely in both hands. Alfonse smacked the left-hand side, then the right, ping-ponging the weapon in the air, till he brought the sword down on top of Falchion, burying it in the dirt. He followed up with a kick to Marth's side, sending the prince sprawling, spluttering in pain.

"Yield," Alfonse ordered, holding his weapon against Marth's neck below him.

The future Hero-King looked up, defeated, before he smiled. "I yield,"

Alfonse sheathed his blade, and pulled Marth to his feet, smiling as well.

"You have proved your power, and I am glad to say, you have broken the contract. You have my gratitude for freeing us from Veronica. I hope that we will meet again someday," Marth said, pleasantly.

"I'm sure we will," I said, smiling despite myself. At that, Marth faded as well, much like Minerva did.

As he vanished, he dropped a small, diamond shaped bronze medallion. I grabbed it, and looked at the lines and small, sparkling blue gem embedded in the centre. I shrugged, and pocketed the trinket.

"Well done, everyone," Alfonse said, turning to look at those that remained. "We've saved their world and our kingdom. At least for now…"

"Why do you have to be such a downer, we won, be happy!" Sharena said, bumping into her bigger brother.

"I am simply being realistic, little sister," Alfonse replied, hands to hips.

"You never celebrate the little things, you know?" Sharena moaned.

"How frightfully boring…"

Across the moat, emerging from the castle, came Veronica, looking sleepy, upon the back of a huge, blue-armoured man with brown hair. To his side was a woman with long brown hair in a pink suit of armour, grasping a shield bigger than her body.

"Princess Veronica!" Al cried out, stepping back. As the two armoured foes moved out, other units began filing out of the castle. Fighters of all kinds, clerics, Pegasus riders, all wearing the uniform of the Emblian Empire. There must have been close to a hundred of them there, milling before the entrance of the castle.

"After all the trouble I went through, making Marth and those others pawns of my empire…" she looked across, directly at me, her red eyes glowing. "Why did you free them?"

She sounded so morose, and looked like a pale, painted doll, with no emotions but sadness.

"No matter…" she sighed, looking around at her army. "I have far more powerful forces at my beck and call. If I wished you dead, they would oblige. And… do I want that?" She held a finger to her chin, looking like Anna for a moment. Her eyes flashed, and she gave a tiny grin. "Oh yes. I very much do. All of you, dead. Dead. Dead!"

I wasn't sure, but I think I heard her voice break and crack as she looked out at us, her eyes darkening, her mouth tightening into a smirk.

"Now, just wait there so I can send them over…" she said, waving at us. Her horde slowly, silently began marching towards us, dust kicking up as they headed our way.

I heard Anna hiss in fear besides me. "We must retreat! We don't have the strength to face her now. We need to get back to our castle to regroup!" she cried out, turning to run back down the path we'd come. I turned with her, and lingered on Veronica a moment more.

"Going so soon?" She laughed, a little maniacally. I swear, that wasn't the same little kid that attacked the kingdom a few days ago. "And just when I was getting ready to play!" She turned her armoured steed around by the ears. "I suppose I'll go home. You'd better get ready for what comes next! Oh, the Heroes you'll meet!" she called out as the armoured units marched her back to the castle. I turned and ran to catch up to the others as the horde began to move up to the bridges.

We managed to escape the army, breaking away from them in the desert. From there, we leisurely made our way to the gateway, and back home. Elise grumbled about not having Camilla for the trip back, but Sharena got her smiling again in no time, rewarding her for doing such a good job on the mission. I stepped in, adding my admiration for the young adult, and her ability to heal and fight, reminding her of how invaluable she was in the first fight with Marth. She grinned up at me, holding her hands behind her back.

"It was a fun time with you, Tazio! I hope we go on lots more missions together!"

I nodded in agreement, starting to feel tired. I had no idea how long we were in the World of Mystery, but the sun was setting when we returned to our boat. I guess we spent a whole day there?

I groaned as I sat down next to Alfonse. We both looked out at the setting sun, admiring it.

"You're a pretty good swordsman, you know?" I said, without a prompt.

"A prince needs to know these sorts of things," he said, smoothly.

"Good thing, or Marth might have ended us…"

"I think you would have turned it around somehow,"

"I'm really glad to know you think so highly of me,"

"You haven't given me much reason to doubt you, yet,"

I chuckled, and sighed.

"So… what is anime?" Alfonse suddenly asked.

I turned to him. "Oh, you wanna know now? Well… alright. The first thing you gotta know is; anime was a mistake,"

We talked like this for the rest of the trip home, with Sharena coming over periodically to listen in or ask questions, till she returned to Elise or Anna, seemingly without energy. Anna took the reins of our cart as she took us home as we all piled into the back. Elise rested her head on my shoulder, falling asleep, as Sharena did the same on her brothers.

"So you don't have people with natural blue hair in your world, but you do in anime?" Alfonse asked, incredulous, reaching for his head.

"Nope, nor green hair, or white, unless you're an albino?" I said, thinking about all the hair colours I'd seen. "Or pink…"

"No pink hair?" Alfonse mused.

"We're back!" Anna announced, pulling the cart to a stop in the castle-grounds.

We woke the girls, and hoped down, only to find a small figure race up to me, wrapping her arms around my legs, wailing.

"Tazio! I'm so, so sorry I didn't win against Marth! He had that sword, and it was scary and tough, and-and-and…!" she gasped between sobs, crying into my legs.

I patted Nowi gently on the head. "It's alright, Nowi, we couldn't have expected him to be air-lifted over to us so quickly. We'll just both get stronger for the next holy blade we come up against, alright?"

Nowi looked up at me, and nodded, forlorn, tears in the corners of her eyes.

Lyn stood before me, and bowed, regret on her face. "I must apologise for failing so quickly in the final battle, Tazio. If I had kept my eyes on the whole battlefield…"

I put a hand to her shoulder. "It was more my fault for putting you in a position where you couldn't see that attack. The fault's all mine, so please, accept my apology," I said, bowing my head to her.

"I-but…?" Lyn was confused for a moment, before she collected herself, and smiled. "Very well, I accept your apology," and gave me a quick hug. I patted her back.

"Camilla?" I looked at the ebony soldier as she approached, her seductive walk always on, apparently.

"You could never have predicted him moving like that. There was no one at fault," the eldest Nohrian princess said with a flick of her hair.

I breathed a sigh of relief, before I felt myself crammed into Camilla's chest, her arms tightening around my head.

"I must comment you for handling yourself well out there, young Tazio. My Corrin would be as impressed as I am, I am sure,"

I tried to speak, I really did, but there was far too much chest armour and boobs smothering my face. Some people would find that fun, I found it harrowing.

We spent the rest of the night relaxing however we could, eating and telling our stories to those who asked. Marth, Caeda and Merric were particularly enthused by the fight scenes I described to them, or the fight against Ogma. Marth seemed pleased to hear his sparing friend was well, but Caeda looked peeved at any mention of the mercenary. I didn't bother to ask why.

As Alfonse and Anna made their way to the war council chambers to report on the mission, I started to head back to bed, only to be stopped by a glow from near the front of the hall.

Walking over to it, I saw a little fountain with an obelisk at the centre. I didn't notice it before as the waters weren't glowing before, I suppose.

Looking into the pool, I could just make out words carved into the bottom, and one sentence was glowing brightly.

"Whatcha doing, Tazio?" Sharena said playfully into my ear.

"Oh, hey Sharena. Looking at this pool thing. What is it?" I had grown used to her sudden appearances now, I realise.

"I don't know…" she said, tilting her head askew in thought. "It's always been here, but no one has ever explained what it is to me. And I could never understand what was written on the bottom."

"Really?" I looked at the glowing words again. "It looks like English to me…"

They read; Conquer the World of Mystery!

Pretty clear cut, I thought.

I reached in, and touched the words. The glow faded, and several golden crystals and gems floated up to the surface of the pool, bobbing on the now still water.

"Ooooh, power shards and crystals!" Sharena exclaimed, grabbing a handful and marvelling at them.

"What do they do?" I said, grabbing a handful of my own.

"They can power up heroes. The shards get them to half power, while the crystals get them to maximum power!"

"Maximum power, huh?" I said, looking down at them all. I quickly found a sack, and filled it with the collection of gems, jingling them around happily.

"Who should get powered up, Tazio?" Sharena asked, poking at the damp sack.

"How about yourself and your brother?" I pondered, half serious.

"Oh, wow, really? You'd do that for us?" Sharena launched herself onto me once more, hugging me fiercely.

"Ghaa, Sharena?!" I struggled for a moment, and then let it all happen, shrugging.

"You're such a good friend to me. To all of us," the princess said softly up to me.

I can't hide that my face went beet-red once more as she said that too me, her arms wrapped around me, her head against my chest.

"Uh… I'm glad you're such a lovely friend as well, Sharena…" I lowered my hands and hugged her as well. Possibly for a little too long…

"Well, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow, Tazio!" she said suddenly, pulling away, her smile still on her face. She dashed away, her ponytail bobbing behind her, leaving me feeling limp and useless. Once more.

As I headed for my room, I was in for one more surprise visit.

Nowi was sitting before my doorway, rocking back and forth.

"Nowi?"

The manakete got to her feet, smiling at first, but then it faded. She looked at the floor, incredibly uncertain.

"What's the matter?" I asked, walking up to her.

"I just wanted to know… Can I still be your big sister?" She didn't look me in the eyes as she asked.

"Huh, where'd that come from?" I frowned, hand on hip.

"You said that you didn't like me getting so close to you, and so, I wondered if I was still ok to be your big sister, cause if I was we could be close and be happy but if you don't want me close by I can't be your big sister and that'd make me sad cause I haven't ever had any siblings and momma and poppa are somewhere else and… and…"

Her words spilled out, one after the other, till she grew breathless, her voice trembling as she took gulps of air, the emotions getting the best of her.

My heart dropped like a stone, remembering my outburst in the forest. I sat down in front of her and took her tiny hands into my own, looking right at her, a sad smile on my lips.

"Oh, sweetie, no, no, it's alright! Of course you can still be my big sister!" I said as a stream of tears rolled down her little cheeks. "I'm so, so sorry I snapped at you before. And of course we can be close, but not so much that people would get the wrong impression, right? You're my big sis, got that?" I said, a silly smile on my face.

"Mmm-hmmm," she nodded, her lips trembling, still not looking at me.

I pulled Nowi into a warm embrace, her shuddering frame against me as she let loose all the waterworks as I stroked her ponytail.

"I promise to never be so mean again…" I murmured over her head.

"A-and n-never leave-leave me like m-momma a-and p-poppa!" she bawled, her mouth covered with drool and snot, but I didn't care. I just curled my legs under her, letting her sit and grasp at my coat.

"No, no, never, I promise, I will never leave you…" I said, calmly hushing and consoling the girl as she continued to cry.

At that point, I didn't care if someone turned the corner and saw me holding onto Nowi so tightly. Let them think whatever they want. I knew, at that moment, she needed someone in her life to be close to, and I was more than happy to do that for her. Lord knows no-one did that for me…

After a time, she quietened, but didn't let go of me. I left her be, still calmly patting her head, humming a low tune. It wasn't long before I heard Nowi start to snore softly, her little hands grip of my coat loosening.

Sighing, I hefted the girl's head gently onto my shoulder, and walked over to the girls bunks on the other side of the castle. Lightly knocking on the door, it didn't take long till it was opened by Lissa in a pink nightie, her hair long for once instead of in pigtails.

"Tazio, what're you doing…?" she began to say loudly till I pressed a finger to my lips to shush her. Nowi murmured in her sleep next to my ear.

"Nowi?" Lissa asked as she spotted her in my arms.

"Could you get her to bed, please Lissa?" I asked, bending down to deposited her into Lissa's small but strong arms.

"You can count on me!" she said with a wink. "Oh, Tazio, your uniform…"

I looked down to see a damp, grubby mess in the middle, where Nowi had been crying. "Ewwh," I muttered, before shrugging.

Waving Lissa goodnight, I walked back through the great hall, muttering and looking at my tunic, pulling it away from me. From this distraction, I bumped into, of all people, Niles.

"Oh my, Tazio returning from the girls bunks? Naughty naughty…" he purred, licking at his lips.

Tired of Niles' special brand of crap, I flipped him the bird and returned to my room, writing down what I could.

Which brings me here. Another full night of writing. Another day of adventures, danger, and bonding tomorrow.

On reflection, I'm not sure if describing my situation as similar to Kazuma's as being accurate. I'm certainly not as much of an asshole as he is, nor am I as perverse as he is.

But…

I think these Heroes will have as much as an impact on my life as the characters in Kazuma's, possibly more.

You know what? I am going to try my best to make each and every Hero I summon become as strong and as cared for. Because they're not illusions; they have feelings, dreams, likes and dislikes; they're as real as I am. And deserve as much attention, if not more, than I do.

Except Niles. Screw that guy…

I guess we'll just have to wait and see, no?

Till next time, me!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: R n' R

The next day, I slept in. There weren't any missions, as the royal guard were securing their positions around the city, just in case the Empire did attack, so no one, not even the Order, were allowed out.

According to Alfonse, the forces we saw Veronica with wasn't much, at least compared to what they'd seen Emblia use in the past; and it was unlikely she could make any more troops in the World of Mystery without gaining control of a powerful, significant Hero from that World once more.

"So rest easy, summoner," he said as we ate breakfast together. He also slept in that morning, with meetings going on long into the night. "Our efforts against Marth were fruitful,"

I nodded in agreement, nibbling on some toast. I was looking down at my tunic once again, grimacing at the crusty mess it had turned into overnight.

"Fear not, we will wash that in our bathhouse," Al informed me as he spooned some porridge to his mouth.

"We have a bathhouse in the castle?" I said, perking up as Alfonse spooled more honey onto his food.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Alfonse said after draining half the pot into his bowl.

"Oh… no reason," But that was untrue; my mind filled with fantasies straight from cheesy, lewd anime's I'd watched back in my old world. I am not afraid to admit I am a strange little guy.

We retired to the back of the castle. Walking across the garden, Alfonse led me a short, long building with steam gently billowing out of it large doorway.

From there, we went into the men's portion, disrobed, wrapped a moist towel around our waists, and entered the bathing pool. I let the steam surround me, already pulling my pains away. We sloshed to the far side of the pool, taking a corner set of stairs for ourselves. It was empty, otherwise.

I began scrubbing at my tunic with a gritty bar of soap I'd picked up from a trough, focusing on the stain in the middle, the suds spreading quickly.

"So this is a traditional Japanese bathhouse, eh?" I said to myself, but Alfonse heard me in the echoing chamber.

"Japanese?" Alfonse inquired as he lounged in the still, gently lapping waters.

"It's a country from my World; they apparently had bathhouses similar to these,"

"Really? I wonder what else from your World you can find here?"

"I doubt very much you'd have television or internet?"

"I have never heard of those kinds of buildings before…"

"No, they're not… never mind…"

The quiet spread again. I heard a drip in the distance, deafeningly loud.

"Sharena really cannot stop talking about you, Tazio," Alfonse said suddenly, making me fumble and drop the soap into the water.

"Wait, what? When'd she say that? What else has she said about me?" I pressed as I splashed around, diving my hands in to find the soap.

"Hmmm? Oh, she just thinks you are a kind person, one of the best Heroes summoned here. She appreciates how much you care for everyone," Alfonse listed off, striking a finger as he did.

"Oh… how generic…" I grumbled as I finally found the soap.

"Oh, and she wondered if you would like to go out to a café later today, seeing as we can't leave the capital,"

"She wants to go to a café with me?!" I rushed towards him, grasping his shoulders. I'm sure my eyes were wide and manic, at that point.

"Yes, she and I…" Alfonse said slowly, mildly alarmed as he brushed my hands off of him.

"She and… Oh, right…" I said, sitting back down, crushing the bar of soap. It popped out of my grasp, shooting into the steamy air before it crashed into the floor behind us. I sunk below the water, blowing frustrated bubbles till I came gasping up for air, the water scalding me.

I heard a whistling coming from the door at that point. Alfonse and I craned our necks to try and see who was coming in, quietly hoping it was one of the cooler heroes, like Chrom or Marth.

I'm sure our expectations were shot to ribbons as Bartre proudly strolled in, his moustache hanging damply over his face, like a walrus, his barrel chest covered in ginger hair.

"Bwaaa haa haa!" Bartre guffawed, fists to hips. "Prince Alfonse and summoner Tazio, what a pleasant surprise!" He roared as he strolled into the pool, his towel barely clinging to his massive frame.

"Hi, Bartre…" we both said, looking at anything else as he crashed through the water too us.

He sat down next to me, his legs astride, and gave one a playful slap as he asked, "What, no missions for you Order boys today? I find that hard to believe, haw, haw!"

"No, the Royal Guard is securing our defences today, so no one is going in or out of the city today. Including the Order," Alfonse recited.

"So, today, we're recuperating," I finished.

"Ahh, yes, after your battle with that prince, err, Mars, or whatever it was," Bartre said, nodding sagely.

"Marth," we corrected him at the same time.

"Same difference," Bartre waved our correction away. "Say, summoner, you picked a lot of cuties to lead the fight last time!" he said, a manly grin growing.

"They were some of our strongest Heroes…" I said, looking into the pool.

"Strongest? Now that's funny!" he roared, somehow louder this time. "You should have brought me along then, kid!" He said, jabbing a thumb at his chest.

"Um… thanks, Bartre. I'll remember you next time we have a mission in need for a manly man," I said, trying to get off the topic.

"You'd better!" Bartre pointed a heavily cuticle finger at me. "Not that those girls aren't strong, mind. I know Lyn from ages past, you know? She hasn't aged a day since I saw her last, but from what I remember, she was lethal on the battlefield! As pretty as a picture, but nothing compared to my Karla!"

"You're married, Bartre?" I asked, intrigued.

"Sure I am? What woman wouldn't want to marry me? Bwaaa haaa haaa!" he said, laughing heartily.

"Right…"

"That dragon kid's neat. Not sure she dressed herself right, but I guess I'm not gonna get into an argument with a dragon anytime soon, right, kid?" He said, reaching over to slap me over the back.

"Yep, that's about right…" I prayed for an end to the old man talk…

"And the sisters… Oof, the girl on the wyvern. Maybe she's a tiger in battle, but how is that armour? Maybe she's built tough? But I can understand why you'd bring the cleric along, but if you took me, I wouldn't need any healing at all!"

"You are pretty confident in your abilities, aren't you, Bartre?" Alfonse asked, scrubbing himself with a new piece of soap.

"Of course I am! I've fought in more battles than the both of you combined, I reckon! Fighting in more pointless wars for pointless Lords that'll all end up in the dirt one way or another. That's a fight none of us can win, no mater how rich or poor we are! It took my Karla, and it'll take you, you and me as well one day," He said, pointing at us in turn.

"True, true…" I muttered. Despite his bluster, Bartre had a bit of a head on his shoulders. He wouldn't still be around if he wasn't.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Barte rose out of the water, and stood in front of us, drops falling off his chest hair.

"I want both of you to punch me as hard as you can, right in my gut!"

"What?"

"Punch you?"

We both got up and glanced at each other.

"Aww, come on, do it! I wanna see how tough you both are, and see how much I need to train you boys up into men!" He said, smoothing his moustache down, flicking the water away.

I looked at Alfonse again and shrugged. He sighed, and stepped up to the seasoned fighter.

Al brought his fist back, looked Bartre in the eyes, and cried out as he punched with his full force behind it.

The fist connected with the centre of Bartre's body, a spray of water exploding out from the point of contact. Bartre was knocked back two steps, his eyes widening as he stumbled.

"Woooah!" he cried out, grinning, feeling the point of impact. "You've been holding out on us, prince!"

"I've trained in many forms of combat since a young age," Alfonse said as he calmly sat down.

"It shows! Alright, your turn, Great Hero!" Bartre said, waving me in close.

I stepped up to him, looking up to his slab of a chest. I was sure that if I punched him, my fingers would snap in twelve different places.

But I did it anyway, drawing my fist back, and launching punch with the most power I had ever put behind it, hoping I wasn't upstaged by Al.

I connected with Bartre, and felt the warm flesh wrap around my digits.

And that was about it.

"Hmmm…" Bartre looked down at me. He grabbed at my arm, squeezing the muscles along them. "Yes, we have some work to do…" he said, clicking his tongue. I groaned internally as I was assessed.

"Alfonse? Tazio?"

I looked up when I heard Sharena calling out from the pathway into the pool.

"You two nearly done in here?" She sounded closer…

"Oh, hi Bartre!"

She had walked straight in! I ripped free of Bartre's grip, and dove under the water.

"Sharena!" Alfonse yelled. "This is the men's baths, you aren't allowed in here!"

"But you're taking so long…" Sharena whined. "So come on, the café awaits!"

"That does not excuse you from coming in here!" Alfonse said, balling up a nearby cloth to throw at her.

"Hey, where's Tazio?" Sharena asked, peering through the vapour until she was smacked in the face by the wet cloth.

"Alright, I'm leaving! Sheesh…" the princess said as she retreated, wiping water off her face.

I immediately resurfaced, breathing deeply. Bartre just frowned down at me.

"A lot of work…"

We left not too much later, after I had dried my tunic with a heating stone kept in the corner. We left Bartre cross-legged in the exact middle of the pool, soaking away.

"You stay outside, you hear, Sharena!" I cried out as we dressed, my voice probably breaking as I said it.

"I don't know why you both are so worried. I used to bath with Al all the time when we were little," she called back.

"We are siblings, and we were young. It is a little bit different now, sister. Besides, you wouldn't like it if Tazio or I barged in while you were bathing?" Alfonse added, reattaching his neck-wing (I never did ask what those things are…).

"Hmmm… if it was something important, I wouldn't mind that much," Sharena said after thinking.

I physically spluttered at that, my imagination kicking into overdrive at that point.

"Please, don't tell anyone else that…" Alfonse said, shaking his head as he walked out, me behind him, pulling my hood over my rosy face.

"Oh, hello there, prince Alfonse, princess Sharena, summoner Tazio," Stahl said amicably as we passed him in the middle of the grounds.

"Just call me Sharena, Stahl!" the princess insisted.

"Well… ok, Sharena…" Stahl said nervously. "Just back from the baths, I see,"

"Indeed, now we're off into the town," I said, focusing on him.

"Well, have a good day. I'm off to enjoy a bath without Vaike bothering me this time," he said, heading down.

"Who's Vaike?" Sharena called out as we put some distance between Stahl.

"Another Shepherd that roped me into spying on the women bathing one time!" he called out before turning around fully.

"See, that is why you shouldn't come into the men's baths. It's indecent," Alfonse commented as we made our way inside.

"I wasn't spying on you. And besides, I didn't see anything!" Sharena protested.

"Well, that would be because Tazio dove under the water as soon as you came in. If he hadn't you might have seen him bare," Al countered.

"Can we please drop this subject and talk about the café?" I pleaded, hoping the oblivious siblings didn't see my embarrassment.

"Oh, yes, the café! It is the absolute best shop in the city, and it's run by two of my closest friends ever!" Sharena said, perking up, bouncing next to me.

"Oh, I think I know who you're speaking of…" Alfonse said, nodding.

The royals didn't say anything else about our destination for the rest of the trip, keeping tight lipped despite my insistent questioning. We waved a fond goodbye to Anna, and headed out into the city, our weapons left locked in a safe in the grand chamber.

I spotted Raigh wandering back to the library before we left.

"Off to learn more dark magic, Raigh?" I asked, smirking.

"Not gonna learn itself, now is it?" he replied, smirking in reply. I waved him as I walked down the steps, and into the courtyard.

Sharena ran ahead, happily enjoying the sunshine and townsfolk. Alfonse and I watched her dart around, greeting the people she knew, and making fast friends of anyone she didn't.

It didn't take long before we reached a corner of the city, right next to the surrounding wall, where a small park grew. A quaint wooden fence encircled a small house, circled by lush, inviting grass. A low hanging tree sat to the side, casting a complete shadow across the ground, covering the two sets of chairs and tables out the front of the house. Vines wrapped around the wall and fence, sprouting deep purple flowers that bees hovered lazily by. I couldn't see it, but I could hear a pond trickling away in the vicinity.

"Oh, this place is lovely!" I said as I walked up to a suit of complete armour at the entrance of the café. It dwarfed me in size. "Love the ambiance," I said, rapping a knuckle across the silvery chest-plate.

"I am pleased you like it, sir,"

I flinched and jumped away from the armour as it spoke, turning its head to look at me.

"But please, I would prefer you not tap on my suit while you enjoy your time here," the suited man added cordially.

"There's another Alfonse…" I said, completely to myself.

"Ahhh, Sharena!" I heard a girl cry out happily from the house.

"Alice, hey!" Sharena called out in reply, waving.

A girl with long blonde hair, slightly curly, in an orange, blue and white dress raced down to meet Sharena. They hopped up and down, grasping each others hands, the girl Alice's pure white cape twirling behind her. I spotted a ruby red tiara made up of three points at the top of her head, gleaming perfectly in the sunlight.

"It has been too long, Sharena! Where have you been? What have you been doing? Have you been on lots of missions? And who is this person? He's your friend, isn't he?" Alice asked away, still spinning.

"It would do well to invite your guests into the premises, Lady Alice," the suit of armour said, stepping forward, gesturing to the chairs and tables.

"Oh, you're so right, Valjean! I have completely forgotten my manners, haven't I?" Alice said, stopping her pirouettes on a dime. She ran over to meet Alfonse and myself, curtseying elegantly before us.

"I am Lady Alice, and I bid you welcome to my humble café. I wish only friendship and peace with you while you enjoy your visit," she said, her voice level and delicate. She stood and aimed us to walk forward, saying, "Please, take a seat,"

"Thank you, Alice," Alfonse said, nodding, walking forward.

"You have a lovely home, Lady Alice," I said, bowing as well, feeling it appropriate.

"Oh, this isn't my home, friend of Sharena. It is one of the shops I own," Alice explained pleasantly. "I live at my families homestead in the country most of the time,"

"Oh…" I went to sit down next to Alfonse, and was surprised to find my chair pulled out for me by the suit of armour, Valjean. I hadn't even noticed him move behind me…

"Would any of you care for a cup of tea or coffee? We also have a range of delectable sandwiches for your pleasure as well," Alice said, holding out a note pad, ready for orders.

"No, no, we must chat first before we eat!" Sharena insisted.

"But wouldn't it be better to eat and chat at the same time?" Alice asked, her notepad drooping.

"I shall arrange for refreshments, Lady Alice. Relax with your friends," Valjean said, stepping up to take Alice's pad whilst also pulling a chair out for her beside Sharena.

"Well, if you insist!" she said, sitting down, delicately folding her dress under her.

"You're the best, Valjean!" Sharena commented as the suited man clinked and clanked into the house.

"Please, call me Val, Sharena," the man said amicably.

He disappeared inside after writing down our orders, whistling away.

"Ok, now you have to tell me who your new friend is!" Alice said leaning over to Sharena, eyeing me with wide eyes, her curiosity palpable.

"Well, you will be very happy to learn that this here is our Great Hero of legend, Tazio!" Sharena announced happily, spreading her arms out to frame me before her old friend.

"Sup?" I said, giving a little wave. I really do break down the ceremony of my own legend, don't I?

"Ohhh, he's the Great Hero of legend?" Alice asked, taking me in completely. She rose and walked over to study me more fully, before looking back to Sharena.

"I thought he'd be more… heroic?" she said, trying to find the words.

"Heroic?" Sharena asked.

"Yeah, like the stuff of legends body, a winning smile, or a stern, serious look. Like, Ike, I guess?" Alice contemplated.

"Like Ike?" I asked, looking to Alfonse for answers.

"Oh, yes, I very much like Ike," Alice said, fanning herself, smiling.

Sharena groaned. "It doesn't mater how he looks, Alice. Tazio has done plenty of Heroic things for the Order! He's summoned so many Heroes for the order, and he's a great tactician as well!"

"Oh, he can summon Heroes?" Alice asked, surprised. "Ooh, ooh, can he summon one now? How about Ike, or Chrom?" Alice looked down at me, wriggling in excitement.

I opened my mouth to retort at the girl, but Al beat me to the punch. "We left Breidablik, the tool he uses for summoning, at the castle. Besides, those kinds of Heroes would only be summonable at the temple, which we can't get to today," He said, picking up a piece of buttered bread from the table.

"Awww…" Alice moaned, sitting back down, dejected.

"It's ok, Alice, you can come with us the next time Tazio goes to summon, how about that?" Sharena suggested.

"Yes please," the noble girl said, brightening up immediately.

Valjean returned, balancing a polished tray on each hand, one with several rows of sandwiches, and the other with tea's and coffee's. He set the sandwiches down, and gave our drinks out individually, remembering precisely our orders.

We all drank and ate, with Sharena telling many stories to Alice of the missions we'd been on since she last saw her, including some tales I hadn't heard about, such as a time the Order infiltrated an Emblian harbour to destroy ship plans, or one where they heisted a supply of gold from a convoy headed for Embla. She carried on, and told her the more recent adventures with me as summoner, and all the new Heroes summoned since then. Alfonse only occasionally corrected his sister as he sipped his coffee, content in the shade.

"You are so lucky to head out on so many adventures, Sharena. I wish I could come with you, or join the Order at least…" she said, sighing, head on a hand.

Sharena slurped her tea, a pinky finger extended as she did so. "I'm sure they'll let you join when Tazio becomes the Commander," she said, sounding confident.

"Wait, why am I becoming Commander?" I asked, putting my sandwich down, confused.

"Well, Anna will retire one day, Alfonse will become King, and Sharena will be your second in command, so you've got to be the Commander, right?" Alice reasoned.

"I would have to find a bride before I became King, Alice," Alfonse said tactfully over his cup.

"Well, if you can't find anyone, I'm sure my father would love it if I became your wife," Alice said shrugging.

"And I know my father would dearly enjoy that as well…" Alfonse murmured.

I had no idea how political this lunch would become…

"Cake, anyone?" Val appeared, carrying a tray of gorgeous cakes topped with fluffy frosting and rich, washed fruits. I'm not sure, but I feel like he arrived in time to reverse the conversation.

"Oooh, your cakes are the best, Val!" Sharena said, pinching a plate before the butler could even set one down.

"I am so glad to hear you enjoy it. Lady Alice, why don't you show your friends the magic you've learnt?" Valjean asked, turning to his ward.

"Oh, what an excellent idea!" Alice said, clapping her hands. She got up, and pulled a small tome out from her belt, unclipping it from it's clasp.

Stepping away from the table, she cleared her throat, and began reciting lines of magic from near the centre of the book, pointing her hand skyward.

At the end, she cried "Bolganone!" and a fireball shot from her hand, to erupt into golden-red wisps of flames the curled in every direction.

"Oh so cool!" Sharena said, clapping her hands.

"You've come a long way, Alice," Alfonse said with a smile.

"Ooooh," I said, still marvelling at the mini firework.

"I finally got the pronunciation after a week of translation," Alice said proudly, sitting back down. "I nearly burnt a side of my west shop down, but oh well. That side looks far nicer now," she said with a grin.

I reached down to grab a slice of a layer cake with a strawberry slice atop it.

"Ok, if Alfonse doesn't marry anyone, would you become Queen, Sharena?" Alice asked as she picked up a cookie.

"I don't know, I never thought about it. I just want to be in the Order forever, with all my friends!" Sharena replied, blissful.

"No, you can't do that!" Alice exclaimed suddenly. "You said when we were little that I got to be your children's aunt!"

The little piece of strawberry I had chucked into my mouth caught in my throat suddenly, causing me to splutter it out onto the table, spraying spittle with it.

"Here you are, sir…" Valjean appeared behind me, offering me a clean napkin to wipe my mouth with as he quickly cleaned the rejected strawberry with a handkerchief.

"Thanks…" I said, catching my breath.

After a concerned look my wat, Sharena returned to Alice. "I don't have time to be a mother. We have to defeat Emblia first!"

"Fine… you're just like Emma…" Alice sulked, crossing her arms.

"Emma is thirteen!" Alfonse argued suddenly.

"I still get to be her kids aunt, and Shade's, and Yuzu's!" Alice said, sitting up in her chair. "When they… have them, of course…" She added, quickly.

I sighed and took little mouthfuls of my cake as the three of them continued to argue and chit chat. Before too long, the sun began to creep over us, and towards the mountains in the west.

That was when I heard a rustle in the tree above us. Turning around, I saw Kagero dropping to the floor, her scarf fluttering behind her.

"Tazio, I have come with news for you and the other Order members," she informed us, rising as she did.

"Oh, is this one of the new Heroes?" Alice asked, rising to look at the new arrival. She approached her, taking her in. "Pretty!" She looked at Kagero's bust, and then glanced down at her dress. Shrugging she said "Could be worse!"

"Kagero, what's going on?" I asked, fearing the worst, walking up to her, grim.

"Commander Anna has informed me that the fortifications have been completed ahead of schedule, and you are free to leave the city, possibly to go summon more Heroes," Kagero informed us, producing Breidablik from her belt.

"Oh, we can go summon now?" Sharena echoed.

"Ooh, ooh, take me, take me with you, please, your promised!" Alice asked urgently, hopping on the spot.

"Can we take her with us, Alfonse?" Sharena pleaded to her big brother.

"Hang on, I haven't even decided if I want to go summon right now!" I said, turning to the others.

"Anna recommends that you do, as the Emblian Empire is moving their forces closer to the temple as we speak," Kagero explained.

"The Empire is moving to the Temple?" Alfonse observed, crossing his arms.

"Ok, we'll go, but I don't have the orbs with me," I said, feeling a sense of urgency now.

"Matthew has been stationed at the north gate with them, as well as the royal weapons," Kagero added, pointing to the north, not too far away.

"Alright, let's go. Alice, you can come too, as long as Val comes as well," Alfonse ordered, heading for the gate.

"Yippie!" Alice cried out, jumping as she did. "Val, Val, we're going to see Hero summoning! Let's go, let's go!" she said, pushing her retainer through the gate.

"I heard, Lady Alice. Please, let me walk behind you, to observe any dangers," Valjean asked as he was shoved around.

"Thank you, Kagero, we'll see you back at the castle before it gets too late," I told her. She nodded, and vanished into the trees once more, and I ran to catch up to the others.

It didn't take long to reach the north gate, and just like Kagero said, there was Matthew, leaning up against a wall, admiring a single orb.

"There you all are. Here are your trinkets," he said as he handed Alfonse and Sharena their weapons. "I would have thought a prince like you would have a better weapon?" he added to Alfonse as he took his silver sword.

"When I'm stronger, certainly," Alfonse said casually, admiring the blade he did have.

"And for you, some summoning juice," Matthew said as he handed me the sack of orbs. "I counted twenty in there. Don't waste them now!"

"Thanks Matthew!" I called out as we ran out of the gates. The sun was really setting now, casting an orange glow over the trees we dashed by. I followed Alfonse's lead, hardly remembering the route we took on the return trip.

Valjean was able to keep up with us surprisingly well, even through we were running at full tilt. But, it soon became too much, and we slowed to a speedy walk, the sun reaching for the horizon now.

I was surprised to find Alice right up next to me as we walked, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Hi there, summoner…" she said, looking at me with devious eyes. "So, I heard you've been summoning lots of pretty girls, huh?"

"Why does everyone focus on that?" I asked aloud, annoyed.

"Oh, it doesn't mater that much, but I wanted to ask you a question… Are any of them prettier than Sharena?"

"I-ah- what kind of question is that?" I was getting quite annoyed now.

"A real one, now spill the beans!"

"You're real pushy, do you know that?"

"Is she pretty or not!"

"Fine!" I ducked down to be at the same height as Alice, cupping my hand to speak to her discreetly.

"I think she's gorgeous, and lots of fun to be around. Even when she's being silly, I know she's doing it for a reason, right?" I whispered to her.

"Awwww, you like her a lot huh?" Alice whispered back, grinning like a school girl.

"But," I added, raising a finger, "I also have to think about the other Heroes in the army. If I focus only on Sharena, the others would get left behind. And besides, I don't want to make things weird between Al and me. We've already fought once this week…"

"Ohhh… so you're afraid to ask her out?" Alice tried to sum up.

"I didn't say anything of the sort!" I exclaimed.

"No, but I could understand what you were _really_ saying," she said, nudging me. "You're the Great Hero, for crying out loud! Sharena has dreamed of meeting you for years, ever since she heard the story! Heaven knows we have heard her go on about you, I actually had a bet with Randall over if she'd fall in love with you at first sight,"

"You bet on someone falling in love?" I asked, appalled.

"I bet on _my friend_ falling in love," she clarified.

"Come on Great Hero. Give it a chance!" she pushed.

"Yeah, not now, when we might be going into enemy territory," I said, standing upright.

"But you will do it within a timeframe, correct?" Valjean was right behind me, speaking directly into my ear.

"How are you so stealthy in that?" I asked as I whipped around, startled.

"Years of practise. To clarify, you will do as Alice has suggested, sooner rather than later?" Val continued.

"Firstly; do you listen in to all of her conversations?" I asked, pointing to Alice as I walked backwards. "Secondly; why are you both so concerned with pimping out Sharena like this? You don't know me,"

"Firstly; yes, I do, as to be expected of me. Secondly…" Val began, looking to Alice.

"The people of Askr love Sharena," she explained, gesturing to her ahead of us. "Alfonse will be fine whether he ascends to the throne or if he stays in the Order; the people aren't too concerned either way. Sharena, however… they really, _really_ want to see her become the next Queen when King Gustav passes away someday,"

"Really? She's that beloved?" I said looking at her laughing with Alfonse.

"As a noble, I am in a particular position to interact with the royals of Askr, as well as the commoners," Alice continued, holding her hands together, solemnly. "If the people are unhappy, I know about it, and try to use my influence at the royal court to help the people. If that doesn't work, I try to placate the people with the sound reasoning I'll be given, and provide justice for all,"

I nodded, understanding her role as a bridge.

"So, to have Sharena become Queen would raise the people's spirits. More so than if Alfonse ascended," Alice explained. "The people are nervous right now. There is no outright war, but the Emblian sorties and the lack of communication with Embla or King Gustav has left them feeling lost. They want change to occur, instead of seeing the Order dash off to another World on a mission," she finished.

"And you think Sharena, of all people, could bring that change?"

"Not by herself, but with a tactician by her side…"

I took a big gulp, thinking of myself being a king…

"Let… me think about it…" I managed to squeak out to her, my imagination reeling.

Alice nodded and moved ahead of me, with Valjean in tow. I kept my head low, shaking it.

Even now, the thought of me becoming a King… Egh… Doesn't fill me with passion or any desires at all. Am I really a political piece now? Do the Askran public even know about me yet?

Questions to be answered another time. Back to the story, we arrived at the temple, just as the sun began sliding behind the earth. Valjean lit some torches, handing them out. I held out my Breidablik, it's glow strong enough to lead be to the dais.

"That wasn't there before…" Alfonse murmured as he looked at the stone plinth.

"There are a lot of new things since we first came here, brother," Sharena said, waving her torch over the walls to look at the carvings again.

I grabbed the plates from where I left them, and placed the plate with Marth on the cover onto the dais.

"May I see those?" Alfonse asked, reaching out. I nodded, and handed him the other plate. "Oh, there is Takumi, Camilla, Lyn and Roy on here…" he said, looking it over.

"You really are an encyclopedia for Heroes, aren'tcha?" I said as I began inserting the orbs. Alice leaned over my shoulder to watch what I was doing, 'oohing and aahing' all the while. Alfonse did the same over my other shoulder, with less noise.

As the orbs changed, I prepared the first one, a blue stone, and fired it out as Alice watched wide-eyed.

As the light faded, I winced, realising that any nearby Emblians would react to the beam of light I'd just made. _Guess we're fighting our way out,_ I thought.

I watched as our new Heroe appeared before me. It was a man, but he dropped to a knee as soon as he was summoned.

"I… am Odin Dark…" the man said, his head bend down low, his voice forceful, with a hint of mystery.

He rose onto his feet, slowly, a hand reaching up to cover his face, bar a single eye.

"Mage of Nohr…"

He eye burst open, staring at us, a smile growing. "Twilight traveler!" he roared at full force, his arm shooting out, his fingers grasping at the air before us. "Infinite enigma!"

He whipped his yellow cape around him, the dust swirling fantastically around him as he shot out sparks of blue light from his fingertips. He looked at us, a huge grin covering his jaw.

"And hey, all-around nice guy!"

"Hello there Odin, how's it going? I'm Tazio," I said, stepping down to meet the theatrical Hero.

As I stepped up to the man, his grin faded, and he looked right at me, our eyes level. I noticed his hair looked a lot like mine. And his face… it was a bit like mine, I guess?

"Tazio?" he asked, reaching out for my face.

"Uh, yeah?" I stepped backwards, avoiding the bizarre reach for contact.

"You are Tazio? And you are my…" Odin began, leaning in, his face going limp.

Only to reign himself back in, pulling his hand across his face, yanking at his cape with the other. "No, I was mistaken, you are naught but my commander, a paragon of heroic deeds, magical might, and seer of mystery!"

"I'm what?"

"Come, we have the mysteries, no, the dark secrets of the world to dive into, and with me at your side, those secrets will be brought into the light for all to see!" he said, leaping up to the dais, his arms and legs stretching, bending and bowing with as much effort as he could muster, I'm sure, too look as cool as possible.

"We aren't going anywhere yet, Odin, I still want to summon more Heroes," I called out to him as he raced to the end of the temple, humming loudly.

Odin screeched to a halt, and returned to the dais, eyes growing.

"Summoning? Heroes? What tremendous words to use on a night such as this! Yes, yes, I can feel power radiating around us; a Radiant Dusk!" He exclaimed, reaching his hands above his head, fingers extending.

"Yeah… I'm gonna summon a new Hero. Alfonse, could you explain things to Odin here?" I said, eyeing the strange fellow.

I stepped back up to the dais, and grabbed a red stone this time. I fired it off, wincing as I remembered the beam of light. I decided to be quick about summoning Heroes for the rest of the night.

Stepping forth this time was a woman in silky, thin robes that hugged her body, her black hair pointing over her shoulders.

"I am Tharja. I am a dark mage from-" She began.

"Yeah, yeah, move on up, we'll say hi later," I insisted, waving Tharja up out of the way of the summoning stone.

She ground her teeth up at me, but relented and walked up, grasping a tome to her chest for comfort. She darted away from Alfonse as he came up to speak to her, keeping her distance, glaring all the while. Odin seemed to recognise her.

"Witch!" he exclaimed, pointing. "Seductress of the sands, hoping to take away my mother's beloved!" he cried out.

"Who are you, worm?" Tharja shot back, conjuring a fireball between her fingers.

"Oh right, you don't… I was mistaken, bewitcher! My many adventures to worlds and places without end has left me with infinite stories! So I must excuse my words if they confuse, as I have been cursed countless times, by my blood, and my lust for power!" He said, placing his fingers to his temple.

"You aren't cursed…" Tharja noted, her unending stare locked on Odin.

He laughed heartily, if a little nervously.

I sighed and placed the colourless orb into Breidablick, firing it off as I saw Sharena try to be friendly to Tharja, with little luck.

Stepping out of the light was a completely bald man in faded, blue robes with a sad, sagging face. His dark eyes were kind and glinted in the darkness.

He stepped up to us with a worn-smooth staff in hand, slowly, but surely. "I am Wrys, a humble curate. I cannot fight, but this staff I carry can heal the wounded," he informed me, bowing his head to me in respect.

"Hello Wrys, happy to have you aboard. Have a chat with Sharena, would ya?" I said, gesturing to Sharena, who, somehow, gave up on Tharja for the moment. She lit up as she met the wise old healer.

I turned back and slammed the last red orb in, knowing I was taking too long. I aimed and fired, and was surprised to see golden light splash across the ground as the Hero stepped forth.

It was Marth! And he was a five-star level Hero, his Falchion at his side.

He smiled up at me, giving the same speech he gave the first time I summoned him.

"Hey Marth, step outta the way please," I asked, gesturing to the other Heroes.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, Marth!" Alice breathed, ecstatic.

"Prince… Marth?" Odin breathed, looking at the Altean royal as he rose into the temple proper.

"Yes, that is me," he said turning to look at Odin.

Odin looked on, gasping. "It's really you, in the flesh! Oh, wow, my cousin would be so jealous right now! We all idolise you sir, you are legend, myth and Hero, all in one to my friends and I!" he exclaimed to Marth as he politely smiled to Odin.

"I'm glad I had a positive effect on your lives," he said as Odin gingerly reached out a hand to shake Marth's.

I focused on the last orb, and crammed it into Breidablik, firing it. I hoped onto the floor as the summoning light cleared, sure I heard cries of Emblian soldiers in the distance.

I could see the shape of a small girl forming through the smoke cloud. Stepping forward in silvery light in a little blue dress was a girl with cropped green hair and an open-mouthed smile.

"I'm Nino, a member of the Black Fang!" she exclaimed, gripping her cape around her.

"That's nice, time to go!" I said, scooping an arm around the little girl's waist, picking her up in a smooth motion, and running up into the temple. Alfonse looked at me, seeing the fear on my face, I reckon, as he urged everyone else to follow my lead.

"Oh! Ok then, mister!" Nino said under my arm as I rushed outside. I could hear the voices louder now, and swore I could see torches in the tree line outside the temple grounds.

"Keep close, and don't get separated!" I called out to the others, waiting for them to get to me outside. I let Nino hop onto my back as I waited.

"Wow, this is exciting, isn't it?" Nino exclaimed as the others gathered around me. "Is this what you all do normally?"

"Normally we're running towards danger, honestly…" I muttered, wincing as I saw Wrys coming out of the temple at snail pace.

"Valjean?" I asked, nodding my head at the curate. The armoured butler dashed up to the man, putting his arms under the elderly man's body, picking him up effortlessly.

"Oh, thank you, my boy. Your kindness is most appreciated from an old soul," Wrys said solemnly as Valjean bounded down the steps.

"Let's move!" I called out once we were gathered.

"Let me lead, fa- err, Tazio!" Odin exclaimed, racing ahead, his cape fluttering brightly even in the dark. I could only just see a crescent moon peek out from behind the lazy wisps of clouds in the sky.

We pelted down the road back to the city, my eyes darting to look at the forest on my left, keeping an eye out for any archers. I couldn't use my vision as I ran, so plain old eyeballs had to do the trick.

We were lucky for most of the way, and we could even see the dim candlelight's of the city in the distance when something huge stomped out onto the road, blocking our way.

Clade in ebony armour with golden highlights was an armoured Emblian soldier. It wore a bucket helmet that obscured their face, and it held a huge, dulled sword in a single hand.

"I've got this!" Odin cried out, pulling a tome from his belt as he ran. He jumped into the air, the pages rippling in the night air as Odin called out; "Come, from the Shadow Dragon of lore; thine Swords of Light; Blarblade!"

Streaking from his finger-tips, growing in size and strength as they flew was a rain of glowing blue weapons, from swords, to axes, to halberds!

They rained down onto the armoured unit before it could react. The glowing weapons smashed down onto the exposed soldier, ripping through the armour, slashing through it's arms like a collection of lightsabres. I could hear a gasp of pain as it was punctured several times, the weapons sticking out like it was a knife rack.

The magic faded, dropping the pinned armoured soldier.

It groaned, but rose back onto it's feet, beginning to pump it's thick, stomping legs towards us, yelling, its sword swaying beside it's helmet.

"That was supposed to work…" Odin said, wincing.

"Uh, Alice, I think you're up next!" I called, looking back for the noble.

Instead, I felt Nino on my back wriggle, grabbing at her tome instead. Leaning on my shoulder, she flipped it open, and without even looking at the scribbles on the page, aimed an outstretched hand to the charging armoured unit.

"Gronnblade!" she cried, her blue eyes flashing.

Much like Odin, she materialised glowing green weapons for her magical attack.

Except, unlike Odin, her weapons flew out from behind her, materializing behind her from rippling holes of magic. Her blades were larger, glowed brighter, and flew, straight as an arrow would, directly at the charging soldier.

Running through the soldier, the blades either struck, sticking in it, or ran right through, flying into the night, exploding into a flash of sizzling green energy. And the magic kept coming, becoming a stream of weapons, zipping through the air.

Finally, the Emblian soldier collapsed, fading as it fell onto the floor.

Odin looked up at the short teenager, and could only clap. Sharena came around grinning ear-to-ear, patting the little girl on the back.

"Nice work there, Nino," I said, breathing again after her display of power.

"I'm just glad it worked!" she admitted. "I always wondered what that word said, and it came to me just now,"

We made the rest of the way without incident, bar Odin suggesting some moves and catchphrases for Nino to use with her magic from now on.

At the gates, we bid goodbye to Alice and Valjean, and walked the rest of the way to the castle; Marth leading the way with Alfonse, Sharena, Odin, Nino and I in the middle, and Wrys and a skulking Tharja in the back.

As soon as we entered the castle, Anna rushed down to us from the grand chamber.

"Are you all ok? We thought we saw a fight on the road to the temple, and I was about to send out the cavalry!" she exclaimed, looking from Sharena, to Alfonse, to me.

"We are all fine, thank you for your concern, Anna," Alfonse said, nodding his approval.

"I see we have some new Heroes as well, so your adventure wasn't a waste," Anna commented, looking at the five new members of the Order.

"Another Anna!" Odin commented, stepping forward. "Across all my travels, across all lands, one certainty is true; an Anna there will ever be!" sweeping a hand across him as he said so.

"Oh, you've met some of my sisters then," Anna said with a smile.

"You have sisters named Anna?" I asked, dropping Nino to the floor.

"Identical sisters!" she clarified proudly.

I was about to add say something when I saw Raigh walk out into the hall, heading for the food hall, his nose in a book. Glancing up, he saw me.

"Oh, Tazio, I wondered how long you would be out for. Good see you haven't gotten lost or some-"

Nino stepped out from behind me, and Raigh's voice croaked to a stop, his eyes bulging. He dropped his book as his hands began to shake.

Hearing the dropped book, Nino turned, saw the shaking boy, and skipped over, smiling.

"Hi there, I'm Nino, a regular ol' mage! Who're you?" she asked, reaching down to pick up Raigh's book.

I could hear a strange, croaking sound come from Raigh as he backed away from Nino slowly, his eyes stinging from the lack of blinking, I'm sure. "You-you-!"

"Huh, is he ok?" Nino asked me, frowning and turning to look at me.

"I think he's just… surprised, is all," I said quickly, coming over.

"Ok…" she said, not sounding convinced. She looked down at the book in her hands, and frowned.

"Could you tell me what this book says?" she said, pushing it out to Raigh.

"Huh?" I don't know how, but Raigh sounded more bamboozled.

"I… I can't read…" Nino said, rubbing her feet together, looking at them. "So I'd like it if you could read it for me…"

"You… can't read?" Raigh repeated, taking a step forward.

"My family never taught me… my mother didn't care much for it…" Nino said, looking distraught now.

"You know…" I said, coming between the two green haired teenagers, pushing the book into Raigh's grasp. "How about, instead of just reading for you, how about you teach Nino how to read, Raigh?" I said, looking down at the struggling boy.

"Teach… her?"

I nodded, eyes locked to his.

He gritted his teeth, looked to the expectant Nino, then up at me, and back at Nino. Closing his eyes, he sighed, his tension disappearing.

"Fine, I can teach you how to read. We start lessons tomorrow!" Raigh ordered, his shoulders square.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Nino cried, wriggling, her hands grasped together.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat," Raigh said, pushing past me, taking Nino's hand, leading her to the food hall.

"Sure, I am hungry. Your name was Raigh, right?" Nino asked as she was dragged along.

"Yep… Not Lugh, Raigh. He's my twin…"

"You have a twin? And Raigh's such a nice name!"

"I-thanks. My… mother gave it to me…"

I watched the two disappear through the doors of the food hall, and I couldn't stop smiling. I could feel my heart so warm, and full, it wasn't a surprise when little tears fell over my cheeks.

I watched as Marth led Wrys into the halls as well, and Tharja snuck inside, keeping quiet, hugging her tome.

Sharena came up next to me, and tugged at my sleeve. I looked down at her, and she was balling her eyes out.

"H-have I told you today what a-a nice guy you are, T-Tazio?!" she cried, gripping my arm.

"No, Sharena, you have not," I said, smiling, knowing full well she could see my tears. I didn't care.

"You're so super-duper nice…" she said, wrapping her arms around mine, pulling it under her chin. "I'm so glad we got to be friends!"

"Me too Sharena, me too…" I said, patting her head with my free hands.

"Come on, Sharena, I think you're hungry by now," Anna said, pulling the princess off me.

"Yeah, yeah I am… Hey, let's go eat with Wrys today!" Sharena exclaimed, brightening up immediately.

"The old guy?" Anna asked as the doors closed behind them.

I could only shake my head in joy. Alfonse came up next to me.

"You-ahem," his voice caught in his throat, "You did a great thing for Raigh, and Nino,"

"You know what just happened?"  
"I am a Hero Encyclopedia, aren't I?"

I looked to my friend, nodding.

"How did you figure it out?" he asked.

"Some clues, here and there," I said with a shrug. "Come on, let's eat. Odin, are you coming?" I asked, waving the man forward.

He hadn't moved since I started talking to Nino and Raigh, but jumped at the chance, stepping right next to me.

"Of course, summoner of legend!" He said, grinning. "I must refuel my engine of eternal darkness; Gliepvor!"

"You don't say?" I said, looking at the extravagant man. "Hey, in your travels, you ever meet someone named Rikka Takanashi?"

We all ate and drank heartily in the warm dining hall that night, enjoying the shenanigans of the new Heroes. Nino scampered off to greet Lyn and Eliwood as soon as she saw them, greeting her old friends. Tharja found a solitary chair to eat in, peering out at everyone else as she nibbled on some cheese and bread. The two Marth's greeted each other warmly, with my first Marth marvelling at the splendour of Falchion. Caeda couldn't have been happier.

Odin, sitting next to me, fidgeted all night, glancing over at Lissa, across the hall, and then back to me. I feel like he was frowning half the time as he picked at his chicken.

I headed back to my room quickly tonight, to write this all down. Hopefully, tomorrow will be less hectic as tonight ended up being.

It was a pleasant surprise, meeting Alice and Valjean, but all her talk about marriage, and the needs of the people… Yeah, I don't need that…

But at least Raigh's a bit happier, and I'm content with that.

So, till next time!


	5. Bonus Chapter

"So, please, Robin, you gotta help me! You are the greatest matchmaker I know!"

Robin pinched the bridge of his nose, grinding his teeth together as he did so.

"You may possibly be the dumbest, unluckiest tactician I know…" Gesturing to the doors of the library, he added, "And I know plenty, including a version of myself using a tree for a weapon!"

"Come on, he isn't that bad…" I said.

"Yeah, you're right, we've got all the Corrin's running around as well…"

"Now you're just being mean!"

"No, I'm just frustrated that you've roped me into such a banal, idiotic, mind-bogglingly moronic situation! Again!" Robin said, stomping his booted foot on the floor.

"Ok, yes, stupid, but also, very, very important!" I protested, bowing to my love-guru, hands clasped together.

"What's going on in here?"

Alfonse entered the library, arching an eyebrow. "I could hear the two of you down the hallway. What're you arguing about?"

"This fool of a Hero has organised four dates at the same time!" Robin said, pointing judgementally at me.

"Hang on, hang on!" I waved my hands in protest. "The thing with Nowi and Myrrh isn't a date! We both know that'd be weird; I'm just going shopping with them!"

"On the Day of Devotion?!"

"I thought it was a festival lasting all week, alright?" I admitted, downcast.

"When has a 'Day' of something lasted over a week?" Robin exploded, rising his hands above his head.

"I mean, Christmas kinda does that…"

" _This isn't Christmas!_ "

"Alright, alright!" Alfonse stepped between the two of us, hands on our shoulders. "How about instead of arguing, we figure out a solution to Tazio's problem, no?"

"Please, Robin?" I pleaded once more, making the biggest puppy-dog eyes I could.

Robin looked down at me, arms crossed. He turned away from me, with an 'Ughh…'

"Fine, but only because you've been so helpful to the rest of us over the year…" Robin relented.

"Thank you, thank you!" I exclaimed, hugging the white-haired man.

"So, care to explain what the problem is, exactly?" Alfonse asked, looking from Robin to me.

"Lover-boy here has planned to spend time with five girls during the Day of Devotion; Nowi and Myrrh together, Lyn, Sharena, and Katerina separately," Robin explained, his left eye twitching as he listed all the women's names off.

"What do you mean Nowi and Myrrh together?" Alfonse asked, looking serious.

"It's nothing serious, I'm just taking them into town for new clothes for the end of the festival, is all," I explained, shrugging.

"Hmmm…" Alfonse wasn't convinced.

"My thoughts exactly," Robin added, nodding beside the Askr Prince.

"You guys really don't trust me, do you, even after all this time?"

"It pays to be suspicious, even a little bit," Alfonse said. "So, besides Nowi and Myrrh, what have you planned with Katerina, Lyn, and my little sister?"

"Sharena is the easy one. We're just meeting up for the fireworks at night, that's all," I said, checking her off on my finger. "I was going to have a picnic with Lyn outside of town, on a nearby hill she likes. Katerina and I are going to go to a play being run by Anna."

"So, you could potentially do all four events?" Alfonse said after a moments thinking.

"We need a timetable…" Robin added. He turned to the door out of the library. "Tharja!"

The black headed mage poked her head around the corner, her eyes misty.

"Yes, my beloved?" she asked, biting at a finger as she held her tome tightly to her chest.

"Can you fetch us a timetable for the Day of Devotion, as well as some parchment and ink wells?" Robin asked.

"Right away!" she zipped off, her racing footsteps echoing back to us.

"You're using her as a slave?" I asked.

"No, no, I just ask her for help on occasion, which she'll happily do for me. It keeps her smiling, so no harm done, right?" Robin said, pulling his quill out.

"You're just feeding her infatuation…"

"Relationship advice? From you, now?"

"Right, shutting up…"

Once Tharja returned, the three of us set to work planning my day out, with Tharja running off to fetch some friends for support.

Our grand plan ready, I set off to gather the materials to pull everything off smoothly, smiling, feeling like I'd already won.

How wrong I was.

The Day of Devotion came sooner than expected, but I hoped out of bed, ready to go. Slamming down a quick breakfast, I waited for Alfonse to arise, hopping excitedly from foot to foot.

It wasn't too long before Alfonse descended down the steps from the grand chamber, still yawning.

"Oh, still here, Tazio? I thought you would have begun step one?" he asked as he crossed the well-lit castle interior.

"I just wanted to wish you luck as well today!" I said, grinning ear-to-ear.

"Why would I need lu- Oh… Sharena's told you what I'm doing today… Grrr…." Alfonse grimaced, wincing at his little sister.

"Come on, you'll do fine! You'll break through that Ice Wall of hers, and melt her heart!" I said patting him on the shoulder cheerfully.

"Why does everyone assume I have intentions for Fjorm?" Alfonse asked angrily. "We are merely friends!"

"Going out together on the Day of Devotion!" I noted, sing-song-like, swinging my hands together wistfully.

"The day in question has nothing to do with the two of us getting to know each other better…" Alfonse said through gritted teeth.

"Awww, you two'll make such a cute couple! I'll see you for the fireworks!" I said, waving at the fuming prince as I headed through the doors.

I met Nowi and Myrrh outside in the courtyard. Nowi ran up to me, hugging my side cheerfully, while Myrrh walked more gracefully, her leathery wings folded neatly behind her.

"Tazio, Tazio, are you excited for today?" Nowi asked, clearly excited herself.

"Sure I am, sis," I said, tussling her hair. "What about you, Myrrh? This is your first time at the markets, right?"

"Yes, but, I don't know if I should be so ecstatic as Nowi… It isn't very lady-like," Myrrh said softly, holding her hands before her, delicately.

"Myrrh, you know you can have fun today, right?"

"Yes, but my fun doesn't involve running around or screaming and yelling, like a child," she explained, glaring at Nowi.

"But doing all of that is so much fun!" Nowi countered, hands to hips, cheeks blown out.

"Hmpf!" Myrrh crossed her arms, tossing her head away from Nowi and me.

"Ok, come on, we gotta get a move on. I've got a big day ahead of myself!"

We made our way to the bustling marketplace, decked out in red and white fabrics and words today, with banners stretching across entire stalls, rose petals scattered on the floor, dancing on the tiny gusts of wind. The day looked perfect; not too hot or sunny, and not grey or overcast. Just right.

Nowi pulled me into the first clothing store we found, pulling at the hem of my cloak while Myrrh diligently stayed by my side, walking tall and proudly. Inside, I pointed to a lovely pink dress, but Nowi ignored me, grabbing a black set of pants with three belts attached, doing next to nothing for the piece. I could only shake my head in annoyance as she scampered off to a changing stall.

Myrrh gazed at a pretty azure-coloured dress, her mouth making an 'o' shape. "Tazio, do you think I would look… pretty… in that dress?" Myrrh finally asked me, averting her eyes from mine.

Looking at it, I smiled and nodded, asking, "Are you trying to catch someone's eye, Myrrh?"

"Ahhh,n-no, nothing like… like that!" Myrrh said, her cheeks flushing red.

"You can tell me who it is, I won't judge you," I said, bending down to pat the innocent girl.

"Ahh, you don't... have to pat my head…"

"Oh, right, sorry," I pulled my hand away. Myrrh waggled a finger to bring me in closer. I tilted an ear to her face.

"I-it's L-Lord E-"

"Finished!" Nowi excitedly exclaimed, stepping out from her stall.

"Oh, Gods…" I breathed, rubbing my face with both hands.

Taking cues from her Autumn festival version, Nowi had grabbed a black coloured wide-brimmed hat, the black belt-pants, and what I could only describe as tube-top, completely pink.

"Myrrh, could you try and get Nowi into a dress for once, please?" I muttered, turning my gaze away from the blonde manakete as she did a swirl, posing with a peace sign over an eye.

After much fighting and debating, we managed to get Nowi into a frilly, pink dress adorned with love-hearts, and the black hat, and the azure dress for Myrrh. Nowi wasn't completely sold on the dress, complaining that she couldn't move as well in it, and it was itchy, and a whole host of other 'problems'. Myrrh, however, was over the moon, fluttering along above the floor, giggling happily, twirling as she flapped along.

"I think you look great, Myrrh!" I said as we headed down the street, the banners showering petals on us as soon as there was a breeze.

"You really think so?" Myrrh said, still in the air, smiling happily.

"Yeah, you never know, you might actually catch the eye of Eph-"

"Shhh, shh, shhh!" Myrrh dove at me, pressing a finger to my lips, her blush growing once again.

"Who is she trying to catch the eye of?" Nowi asked innocently, looking like a dolly now.

"This doesn't concern you!" Myrrh said in a huff down to Nowi.

Nowi looked downcast. "Awww…"

We walked past several other shops, buying small bracelets or bows as we saw ones the girls liked. Nowi insisted on putting a lily across my breast, on my cloak when she saw it.

As we walked, I saw groups of Heroes start to appear, shopping as well.

Selena was skipping along happily beside Lucina as Odin and Laslow struggled behind the girls, massive boxes piled up on both their arms.

"We must preserver, old friend! Our might, together, is unlimited! Just, keep, pushing!" Odin cried, walking unsteadily.

"How about instead of a speech, you keep up with me?" Laslow barked, his face peering out between a hole in the tower of gifts. "You've got your play to get to, and I have my tea date to look forward to. I am not missing this for the world!"

"I know, I just thought I could…" Odin murmured, defeated.

"Don't work them too hard, Selena," I said, passing them by.

Flicking one of her hair ribbons over her shoulder, looking smug, Selena said, "Oh, I'll work them as hard as they need to. It's not everyday you have lackies carrying my presents!" she said, laughing.

"So which of them are you going to give a present to later on?" I asked innocently.

Selena reddened, and turned to me, shoulder arched, arms straight. "Who said I was giving either of these two a present? Ghah, you're so stupid, assuming so much. A present for them? Absurd…" She walked away in a huff.

"I'll keep them all playing nicely, Tazio," Lucina said with a smile, catching a box that fell off from Odin's tower, holding it instead.

"Ooh, ooh, look, Tazio, a sweets shop!" Nowi pulled me into another shop, it's windows filled with chocolates. Inside, I grinned, glad we'd gotten a map of the shopping district the other day.

"Hello, Tiki's, what a pleasant surprise!" I said, trying to sound surprised.

The two Tiki's swivelled away from the wedding cake they were both gazing at from behind a glass pane.

"Oh, hello, Tazio," the older Tiki said, nodding in greeting to me.

"It's so nice to see you again, Tazio!" the younger Tiki added, curtsying.

"Oooh, hiya, hiya Tazio!"

Looking to my left, I saw Fae waddle out towards us, grinning, waving her arms.

"The gang's all here!" I observed, hands to my hips. "Say, Nowi, Myrrh, do you two want to spend the rest of the day with the other manaketes?" I asked the two girls.

"Awww, you wanna leave us?" Nowi asked, sadly.

"I just thought you'd have more fun showing off your new dresses to Tiki and Fae. And don't worry, we'll meet up again for the fireworks," I confirmed, stroking Nowi's hair.

"Well, I guess… but only if you can get us some candy before you leave!" Nowi pointed up at the counter.

"Alright, that's fair…" I said, stepping up to the counter. I glanced down and saw the cake the Tiki's were looking at, my smile sagging as I saw a picture of a smiling Marth in icing across the top.

"Hello there, sir, would you like some of our complementary Order of Heroes cookies with your purchase?"

"Order of Heroes cookies?" I asked, looking up to my attendant.

"Anna?!"

"Would you like some, sir? They come with any order over five pieces of gold!" Anna said, smiling sweetly at me, in a shop-tunic instead of her regular Order outfit.

She lifted a tray of ginger-bread style cookies up in front of me, featuring miniatures of herself, Alfonse, Sharena and myself, all coloured accordingly.

"Are we getting paid for the use of our likeness?" I asked after staring at the caricatures in mild disgust.

"All Order members likeness can be used at the behest of the Order's Commander for marketing purposes as soon as they become a member!" Anna explained, still smiling sweetly.

"Uh-huh…" I said, pulling my coin pouch out.

"Tazio?"

A shiver ran down my back. I looked to the opening door, and saw Katerina walking in, her scarf loosely hanging off her neck today.

"Ohhh, hey, Katerina!" I exclaimed, my voice breaking, I'm sure.

"How nice bumping into you here," the lavender-haired tactician said, stepping up next to me, smiling.

"Yeah, how-how crazy, right?" I said, looking behind me, to see if the manaketes were distracted, elsewhere.

"I'm looking forward to seeing your play, Anna," Katerina added as she looked over the collection of sweets.

"It's shaping up to be a good one!" Anna confirmed.

"Ahhh, I'll take just the cookies, ok, thanks Anna!" I said, snatching the four cookies, slamming five coins down on the counter.

I whisked the cookies into the young manakete's little hands, watching them all happily eat the treats, quietly, before appearing beside Katerina, my heart pounding.

"So, see you at the play, right?" I asked, probably a bit too urgently.

"Of course, I've been looking forward to our meet up all week," Katerina added sweetly, collecting a bag of peppermints from Anna. I waved her goodbye, smiling just a bit too much, only sighing in relief once she'd turned around the corner.

After thanking the older Tiki for looking after the brood, I headed off to my next appointment, bumping into a laughing Marth and Caeda as they entered the same shop I was exiting.

I heard a faint 'Mar-Mar?" echo behind me as I dashed for the gate out of the city, checking my time-stone to see if I was on schedule. The stone glowed a lavender colour, indicating just before mid-day. I was in luck.

I passed by a fountain where Hector, a hand across young Lilina, was shouting at Reinhardt, who looked across at the armoured man in plain contempt, shielding his sister, Olwen. Ignoring the fighting arena champions, I headed for the right gate, where Roderick waited, picnic basket at the ready.

I snatched it from him as he bade me good luck, my footsteps slamming into the path out of the city.

Gasping for air, I made it out of the city, and to the hilltop Lyn was waiting for me. I guess I was still out of shape, even with Bartre's continued training.

"Oh, Tazio, there you are!" Lyn exclaimed as I collapsed onto the quilt she'd laid out for us. "Are… you ok?" she asked as I panted on the floor. I raised a thumb up for her, pulling myself upright.

"Didn't want to miss such a nice day for a lunch!" I said, sitting cross legged as I caught my breath.

"It is a lovely day, isn't it?' Lyn admitted, looking out at the rolling hills before us, her green hair waving lightly, her blue tunic folded elegantly under her legs.

We began eating the simple, but delicious meal from my basket, savouring the cheese and bread, well cut salad, and bottle of liquor. I only had a small portion, knowing I had a lot to get through for the rest of the day.

"Isn't this hill magnificent?" Lyn asked after a while, the fluffy clouds floating over us, tranquil.

"It is pretty, isn't it?" I agreed, nodding. I hadn't seen such a pretty field in forever, I felt. I'd mostly fought on them.

"Does… does it bring back any memories?" Lyn asked, hesitant.

"Errr… no, nothing springs to mind?" I said slowly, turning to Lyn.

"You don't remember… where I first met you?" Lyn pulled in closer to me, looking right into my eyes. I was reminded of when she confessed to me…

"We… Lyn, we first met at the summoning ruins…" I said, quiet.

Lyn's small smile dropped away as she sighed. "I was asking for too much, wasn't I?"

"Lyn?"

She looked back up at me, smiling sadly, teary-eyed. "I'm sorry Tazio. This was my fault. You just remind me so much of Mark, I thought, maybe you were one and the same person? And if I talked to you today, on such a love-filled day… But, it was the fantasy of a foolish girl…"

"Lyn…"

"No, don't pity me. I brought this upon myself. I would only ask…" She pulled me into a hug. "Please, let us remain good friends?"

I leaned into the hug, patting her back as the tears fell onto my shoulder. "Of course, I wouldn't ask for anything less," I whispered back to her.

After a time, Lyn pulled back, wiping the last drops away. "Well, I think you've had your fill of me. I'll pack all of this up while you head to your next date,"

"My next date?" I asked, incredibly nervous. "W-whatever do you mean?"

Lyn gave me a look of incredulity. "Really? I know more than you think, Tazio,"

Laughing nervously, I got up, and began making my way back to the city, waving cheerfully back to Lyn.

I made my way to the open-air auditorium where Anna's play, based on my writing, was to take place.

I briskly made my way past Eliwood, suited up, holding out a bouquet of pure white flowers to Ninian, smiling sheepishly as he did so. As I rounded a corner, I saw Roy hiding behind his future father, imitating his father's gestures with a bouquet of his own, blushing all the while.

I made it to the auditorium in ample time, meeting up with Katerina out the front. Katerina smiled softly up to me, her hands behind her back as I led her inside, moving behind a couple of townsfolk.

"Tazio! Hey, Tazio, over here!"

The shrill cry of Sharena pierced the open air. Wincing, I turned, and saw her on a middling rung of seats, waving me over to her. Sitting beside her was Alfonse and Fjorm, both of them arching their eyebrows at Sharena's antics.

"Oh, look, it's the royals, should we go over and greet them, Tazio?" Katerina asked politely, taking hesitant steps forward, tugging at my sleeve.

I, meanwhile, was grinding my teeth, annoyed by my unluckiness…

Walking over to Sharena, she urged us to sit down beside her. I did so, with Sharena insisting I sit beside her, with Katerina to my right.

"Hello, Tazio. Are you having a good day so far?" Fjorm politely asked as I sat down, a fake smile on.

"Great!" I spat, crossing a leg. "Just… great!"

"All to plan then?" Alfonse asked, looking to me sideways.

I grumbled in my seat, thinking he did this on purpose. Then a devilish grin came over me.

"What about your day, Fjorm, Alfonse?" I said, leaning over to look at them, looking like the Cheshire Cat.

"Oh, it has been interesting, learning about Askran culture," Fjorm said, her hands folded neatly in her lap. "We don't have traditions like this in Nifl,"

"I would enjoy hearing more about your customs in Nifl, someday, Princess Fjorm," Alfonse said pleasantly, looking to her.

"I would be happy to tell you what I know of," Fjorm replied back as pleasantly.

Sharena and I beamed gleefully at the two royals, barely containing a 'nawwww!'

"Tazio!" There was a cry of joy behind me, and before I knew it, Nowi had hopped onto my shoulders, her dress's hem flying over my face.

"Aggghhh! Nowi?!" I cried out, spitting out the folds of the frilly clothes. Katerina carefully folded the fabrics off my head, letting me see.

"Ha, you thought we'd meet back up at the fireworks, but we met up here instead!" Nowi smiled down at me, like a little imp.

"Yeah…"

"Oh, hello again Tazio," Tiki had arrived with her entourage of manaketes, settling into the seats behind us.

"How're you going today, Sharena?" Nowi said, turning to her little sister. "Have you given out any presents today?"

Sharena got uncharacteristically quiet all of a sudden, her eyes sinking back, right before animatedly perking back up again, knocking Nowi on the back.

"Haha, what kind of question is that!" she laughed loudly as Nowi and I swung around, unbalanced, till Tiki picked the trouble-making manakete off my shoulders. It didn't stop the people seated below us to angrily 'shush' all of us.

It didn't take long for the play to begin, then. Anna, dressed up in her director's get-up, beret on her head, poufy pants on, called out to the gathered crowd with a cone-megaphone, the simple wooden tool amplifying her voice.

"Greets Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages! I am incredibly excited to share with you, on this day of love, a story of love!" she announced, walking over the stage as she spoke. "Today, after many weeks of work, our actors are ready to share with you, the tale of 'The Arena'!" she finished, bowing before everyone, to respectful applause.

"Oh no…" I groaned, realising which story Anna had adapted.

"Tazio? What's wrong?" Katerina asked me, putting a soft hand to my shoulder.

"Just… just watch…"

And sure enough, stepping onto the stage was Odin, dressed up like Reinhardt, his hair dyed black, child-sized gloves blown up and attached to his sleeves.

"Magic… is everything!" he called out, in traditional Odin aplomb, waving a prop tome into the air, held to his glove. Behind him, a low-powered lightning tome attack was used, hitting what I assumed was a bucket of dirt at the back of the stage.

Shuffling onto the stage at the other side, a paper-Mache suit of green armour came out, looking like a warped form of Hector, his trust prop Armads on his back, looking ridiculously oversized.

"Oh ho!" the Odin in the suit roared, doing his best Hector impersonation. "Magic might be everything, but might is right!"

"Magic isn't just a tool, it isn't even half of us, it makes up everything, and I wield it as a weapon!" Rein-Odin replied, shaking a floppy glove at Hector-Odin.

"My body is my weapon! And it's ready!" the Hector suit cried, shuffling forward.

"Ha ha ha!" Rein-Odin laughed, a creepy grin spreading across his face. "Moving that slow, you'll reach me a year from now!"

"Not unless I enlist the aid of my… dancers!"

At his call, Olivia, Aqua and Shigure came to the stage, dressed in their performing outfits. I'm guessing Inigo would have gone out as well, but Anna must have limited it to a four-person team, to line up with the story.

"Well, I have my cavalry teams!" Rein-Odin called, grabbing hold of a hobby-horse toy to throw his legs over, waving his comrades out. Standing by his side were more Odin dressed up in the outfits of other Heroes; Brave Roy, Frederick and Elise.

I had to laugh when I saw Odin in a gothic-lolita costume, standing proudly in a dress, pigtails swaying delicately. I could hear Hector, in the front row, laughing away as well, slapping his leg at the on-stage antics, chuckling beside Eliwood and Lilina. I thought I could make out several Lyn's seated with them as well. I briefly wondered if the Lyn I had a picnic with was with them, before I felt Katerina's hand touch mine.

"How many Odin's worked on the show?" she asked in a whisper, pointing, trying to count the ones she saw.

"I think all of the ones I'd summoned, so that'd make it…" I quickly counted in my head. "Eight Odin's?"

"You have that many versions of Odin?" Katerina asked, eyes widening.

"Yeah, I like the guy, what can I say?" I said, shrugging.

"I'm sure Luke would have loved to have met him," she adds, turning back to the show.

"I would have loved to have met Luke," I murmured to myself.

We settled in, enjoying the silly antics presented; of Hector and Reinhardt's eternal struggle in the arena, and the introduction of their new allies, Brave Lyn and Amelia (I was almost fooled into thinking it was actually Amelia in the paper suit on stage, till I remembered how tall Amelia was, realising it was Nino on stage, doing her best, as she'd say).

The charades continued, and I couldn't help but get lost in the fun of it all. It was then that I felt a small hand touch my shoulder.

"Um… Tazio?" It was little Tiki, crossing her legs uncomfortably. "Could I ask you to walk me to the little girl's room? Please?"

"Ahhh…" I said, darting my eyes over to Katerina.

"Let's go together, Tazio," the quiet girl said, putting a hand to my shoulder.

I put mine over hers. "Thank you." Turning to the manakete. "Alright, let's go."

We excused ourselves out of our seats, making our way to the back of the theatre, and the 'restrooms' outside. I use the term restroom lightly, as they're nothing like the ones back home, despite the improvements I suggested to the city council.

In any case, Katerina walked Tiki into a stall, leaving me to my devices. I saw the newly summoned Roy, in his dapper suit, sitting on a bench with his chin in his hands. Making sure Katerina could find me easily enough, I went over to sit next to the young lion.

"What's up, my boy Roy?" I asked pleasantly enough.

"Hector…" he said, gloomily, barely moving.

"Oh, he's being overprotective again, isn't he?" I realised, nodding.

Roy shot up straight, looking angry. I rarely saw him like this…

"No, he's stepping in the way of a childhood friendship!" Roy complained, arms wide. "He thinks Lilina and I are going to get married right away if we trade gifts today! He just doesn't understand I was giving a gift to my closest, oldest childhood friend!"

"Yeah, I know Hector can get, overbearing, but he is doing it because he cares for Lilina, maybe a bit too much, and-"

"And I care about Lilina as well!" Roy exploded, pointing at me angrily. "When Hector died, who did she have for a shoulder to lean on? Who helped her in her time of grief? Me, that's who!"

"Woah, Roy!" I couldn't believe the normally kind and considerate Roy was erupting like that.

Roy stopped, realising what he'd said.

"I- I didn't mean it like that…"

"No, you did,"

I turned and saw, strolling towards us, Hector, in his Day of Devotion getup. I briefly wondered why he'd left the theater. Maybe Lilina asked him to find Roy?

"Oh, crap…" I breathed, my gut plummeting.

I stood up, and tried to stand in the way of Roy and Hector. "Let's not get berserk now, Hector!" I pleaded, hands up against his firm chest.

"Tazio." He looked down at me. "Move."

I stepped away, hands up. He stepped up to Roy.

"Say it."

Roy looked up at Hector, his eyes burning.

"Go on, man up and say it!" Hector roared.

"I love Lilina as much, if not more, than you! When you died in our world, I was there for Lilina! When we rode into war, I was there for her! You were in the ground, because you just wanted to fight, thinking about yourself!"

I stared on, unblinking, at the exchange. Sure, I'd seen fights between Heroes in the past, but none this loud, or this public…

Hector stared down at Roy, his face a mask.

And then fell down to his knees, breaking down into sobs.

Roy and I both pulled back, surprised, and a little mystified.

"You have cared for my Lilina… Supported her, cared for her, when I had met my fate…" the blubbering man said, reaching a gloved hand up to Roy's shoulder, grasping it tightly.

"I know I was selfish, doing whatever I did to end me, but I'm sure I did it to save Lilina. But you, you stepped up where I couldn't. You provided, you cared, you loved, didn't you?" Hector asked, pleadingly, up at Roy.

"Y-yes sir…" Roy mumbled, uncertain.

"Mean it, boy!"

"Yes sir, I did all I could to care for your Lilina!" Roy cried out.

"No…" Hector stood up, hand still on Roy's shoulder. "You cared for _your_ Lilina. She became yours the moment I died. And for that, I thank you, and bless you." With that, he pulled Roy into a tight embrace. Roy, startled, slowly put his arms around the big man as well, his eyes glassy, up against Hector's chest.

My heart became a puddle, I'm sure of it. And it must have come up, oozing out of my eyes otherwise. I definitely wasn't crying…

Hector and Roy walked back into the theatre, arms over each other's shoulders.

"Calling you father now would be a bit much, wouldn't it?" Roy asked as they walked.

"Don't push it…"

"Tazio?" I turned to see Katerina returning with Tiki, confused. "What happened?" she asked, eyes darting over to the retreating Hector and Roy.

"Something beautiful…" I breathed, wiping the last tears away.

She smiled sadly up at me. "You really are an emotional guy, aren't you?"

"Heh, yeah…" I said, walking back to the stands, Tiki skipping along in front of us.

"Tazio, I… I want to ask you something…"

I stopped to look back at Katerina. She shuffled her feet together, rubbing her arms behind her back.

"What's up?" I asked, frowning.

"Do you…" Katerina kept her eyes from me. "Do you remember what I told you, that one time?"

I suddenly recalled her confession to me. "You thought I was your Hero friend, Kris, reincarnated," I said slowly, fearing where things were going.

"Yes. I-I researched everything I could, and I thought I was so, so sure…" Katerina admitted, her balled fists shuddering by her side, head low.

I walked up to her, putting my hands on her shoulders. "You were so similar, and yet… you're so very different from Kris. Not in a bad way!" Katerina added quickly, looking up at me. "You're funny, and quirky, and say some of the most interesting things, and you always care… but…"

"But, it isn't what you were… looking for…" I finished for her.

Katerina was quiet for a time.

"No… I'm sorry…"

I sighed, my heart sinking, and yet, I was kind of relieved as well. First Lyn, and then Katerina? They were realising what they actually loved, and I wasn't it. I was a little disheartened, but ultimately, I was glad I wasn't going to let my friends down by being with them. Something I felt sure I'd do.

"It's ok, Katerina," I said, rubbing her back, much like I did Lyn's. "I'm glad you could figure this out. It's better you sorted your feelings out than letting this all ball up and explode, right?"

"You're right…" she admitted, embracing me as well, sniffling. "Still friends?"

"Still friends…" I said, chin on the assassin's head.

"Should we go inside?"

"Tiki's still waiting, I bet…"

Sure enough, as we pulled apart, we looked up and saw Tiki waving at us urgently.

Walking inside, we watched the rest of the play, delighting in the highs and lows of Rein-Odin and Hector-Odin coming together to defeat the rise of the manaketes, their power combining, their friendship nothing but legendary.

"Oh ho!" the Hector cried out, raising his hand to grasp the Reinhardt's. "You can be my squadmate, anyday!"

"Magic may be everything, but our friendship is magical!" Reinhardt agreed, eyes locked to Hectors.

At that, surrounded by the vanquished foes from the arena (all Odin's in costume), the curtains came down before the two foes-turned-friends.

The audience began to clap, only to gasp as a last Odin, dressed up like Brave Lyn, his manly legs not blending with Lyn's tunic at all, burst out, pointing at the crowd.

"The enemy!" he cried, to a chorus of laughs, none louder than original Hector.

The curtains rose again, and all the Odin's, dancers and extras lined up, held their hands, and bowed before the clapping, whistling crowd. I joined them, slapping my hands together, feeling a little impressed in Anna's work.

We began milling out of the theatre then. Tiki and the young manaketes excused themselves, heading for the castle for a group nap, to prepare them all for the fireworks that night. "We're gonna have a slumber party!" Nowi told me, clearly excited, bouncing next to Fae. I waved goodbye to them all, watching them head for Askr castle.

Katerina bid her goodbye as well, explaining, when Alfonse inquired, that she was meeting up with Clarisse and Legion before the night event for dinner.

"Send them our hellos!" I suggested as Katerina disappeared into the crowd.

"Aww, and I thought you two were getting along so well…" Sharena said, kicking wistfully.

"We were, but… it just didn't match up…" I said, smiling sadly.

"Don't worry, Tazio, we'll still be there for you!" Sharena said, grabbing one of my hands, glowing next to me.

"Indeed," Alfonse said, solemnly nodding to me.

"We owe so much to you, Great Hero Tazio," Fjorm added, a hand to her heart.

"Thanks guys…" I pulled my time-stone out, seeing how long till the fireworks.

"Well, shall we have some fun at the carnival games?" I asked, turning to the others.

We spent the next three hours moving through the stalls beside the market, marvelling at everything there was to do or see.

We each played the dunking game, dropping a furious Narcian into a vat of water, all of us hitting the target, leaving the vain man screeching at us, wet drools of hair across his face.

Alfonse and I each tried the ring toss game, failing miserably this time, only for Sharena and Fjorm to try and be rewarded with dragon plushies, which Sharena pushed into my face, laughing all the while. Alfonse and Fjorm looked down at their pink dragon, before shrugging and tossing it over their shoulder.

"You're not gonna beat me!" I cried, looking across to Alfonse.

"I'll show you my true power!" he said in reply.

The hand-made carts tumbled and jumped across the dirt track, Sharena and Fjorm shouting us on from their seats.

"Come on, brother!"

"You can do it, summoner!"

We both looked surprised, however, as Ayra dashed past us, while Arden held onto his cart for dear life. "I wanna go slow, I WANNA GO SLOW!" he screamed, his limbs rigid.

At the Pegasus archery game, I tried to fire my little arrow darts, but always missed.

"You're too kind for your own good, Tazio, here, let me try!" she said, pulling the launcher from my grasp, immediately downing three pegasi. I let out a low whistle.

"Tazio, Sharena, we have some food!" Fjorm called out to us after I'd finished bowing to a curtsying Sharena. He moved to the bench Fjorm had saved for us, spreading out hot Hoshidan foods that I found I'd taken a liking to.

We chowed down, but it wasn't long before Alfonse smacked his forehead in annoyance. "I forgot a drink cup!" he suddenly realised. Looking at the set up, I realised he was right.

"I'll be right back…" Alfonse said, getting up.

"No, no, wait," Fjorm said, holding a white gloved hand up. "Here, we will simply share our drinks." She held her clay cup to Alfonse, gesturing.

"Are you sure that will be alright?" Alfonse asked, slowly letting himself sit down.

"Of course, it would be the least bit of trouble," Fjorm said pleasantly.

"Well, it would be rude to decline then…" Alfonse sat down, and calmly took the cup. He took a quick sip, before he began coughing and spluttering. "Cold!" he gasped, wriggling his tongue around in his mouth to try to bring sensation back to it.

"Oh, no, Prince Alfonse, I am so sorry!" Fjorm reached out for the head-shaking young man, taking back the cup. "I forgot that I chill most beverages I touch!"

"It's… Ahem, it's quite alright, it was more a shock, than anything else," Alfonse said, regaining composure. "It was actually quite tasty, in the end."

"Oh, I'm glad," Fjorm breathed out in relief.

Sharena and I couldn't take our eyes off the exchange. Our mouth's gaped, and when Alfonse and Fjorm both looked our way, we both, simultaneous, let out a little squeal of joy.

"You two are so _cute!_ " Sharena said, hands slamming down onto the table.

"How do you two not feel the chemistry?" I asked, cupping my head in my hands, looking at them.

"Chemistry?" the royals said at the same time. They glanced at each other, their cheeks flaring.

"Princess Fjorm is merely an ally to Askr in our war! We are merely… assisting her in her fight against Muspell. Our relationship ends there," Alfonse said, crossing his arms, looking down at the two of us.

"I agree, Prince Alfonse. As grateful as I am for your continued assistance, we are allies in a time of war. That is all we can, and should be," Fjorm added, crossing her arms as well, looking at us icily.

"I'm glad we're in agreement, Princess," Alfonse said, nodding to her.

"And I, too, am glad, Prince," Fjorm said, nodding.

"They're so similar, it kind of hurts to watch them ignore their feelings," Sharena said to me, eyes glued on the couple.

"Feelings aren't helpful for this war!" the two of them snapped, before realising they'd both said the same thing, turning, shocked.

Sharena cracked up laughing, but I sat, sighing in bliss at what I knew was inevitable.

"You still have a debt towards Alfonse, right?" I asked calmly, looking at Fjorm.

"My life debt? But, I believed you saved me-?" Fjorm said, confused.

"I mean, sure, I found you, but Alfonse was the one who carried you to safety. If I tried lugging you around, we'd all have been burnt to a crisp," I explained, framing the stunned prince.

"You- you were the one to save me, Prince Alfonse?" Fjorm asked, looking across to Alfonse.

"Erm… I simply couldn't let someone fall prey to the flames that surrounded you. It was my duty as Askr Prince to save any pretty people in need," Alfonse said, trying to sound patriotic.

I waited for the pin to drop, eagerly awaiting the reaction.

"I said pretty…" he finally said, to his feet. He stood up and left, looking at the floor. "I will go and fetch my cup…" he quietly said, not looking up at all, his face practically glowing.

"EEEEEEEKKKK!" Sharena said, waving her arms excitedly. "Yes! Tazio, what's the phrase you like to use?"

"Ship it," I said, cocking a finger at her, grinning.

"I ship it!" she exploded, jumping into the air, hands raised.

"Please, Princess Sharena… Not so loud in public…" Fjorm urged her friend, her face pink and rosy.

We ate the rest of our meal happily enough, with Fjorm and Alfonse barely regarding each other the whole time.

Looking down at my timestone, I informed everyone it was time to move. In answer, the town clock began to chime, indicating eight o'clock.

Gathering beside the Training Tower, in it's well sized parklands, I saw basically all the Heroes from the Order gathering together. We made our way to the little stand that Anna was going to use to introduce the fireworks, waving at Anna as she put the finishing touches on it.

"Hello, everyone!" she said pleasantly as we approached. "I hope you all had a great day!"

"We did, and I wanted to thank you for the play you put on, Commander Anna," Fjorm said, politely shaking Anna's hand, quickly so as not to freeze the commander.

"You did well, it was a lot of fun to watch," I added, shaking her hand as well.

"Awww, thanks for letting me adapt your writing!" Anna smiled, back in her pose. "Hmm, what're Alfonse and Sharena doing?"

I turned around, to see the siblings quietly arguing. I felt like Alfonse gestured my way, but it could have been at Fjorm.

The two eventually came up to us. Sharena looked flustered, fidgeting with her hands. She was looking at the floor. Alfonse followed, frowning. He sat down to the side of the stage, urging us all to do the same.

Sharena shuffled down next to me after I seated myself on a comfy bit of grass.

"Comfortable?" I asked her, hoping she had a soft patch of grass, ready to offer my spot if she didn't.

"Hmmm, oh, yeah, of course!" Sharena said, nodding energetically. She clutched at her belt. I could only frown, wondering what was up.

We sat together, chatting amicably as more and more Heroes filled the park. I finally realised that the area was solely for us, a little party just for the Order.

"Wow, I hope everyone was able to express themselves today," Sharena said to my side, looking out at the crowd.

"Express themselves?" I asked.

"Yeah, to tell the people who mean the most to them how much they're loved. How much they want to love them in the future," Sharena said, her voice softer than usual, less bubbly.

"The people who mean the most..." I murmured, looking out at everyone.

"Y-yeah… Say, Tazio, I've actually got something for you…" Sharena said, sounding nervous.

"You have something for _me_?" I asked turning to face her.

"Well, from all of us, yeah, but I picked the gift…" Sharena said quickly, reaching into her pouch, pulling a necklace out. It was a gold version of the Askr crest, with red, green, blue and colourless gems studded across the surface.

"I made this with a lot of love… Oh, it's too embarrassing to say this!" Sharena floundered, turning to Alfonse for support. He smiled, nodding her on.

The girl breathed in and out, shaking her fingers out. "Tazio," she finally said. "I-we- want to thank you for everything you've done for us, for everything you do. You… you mean a lot to me… and us!" She added quickly. "So, I hope we, errr, always stick together!" she finished lamely.

"Of course, Sharena. I'm sure we will," I said, happily holding the girl's hands in mine.

"Ahh, here, how about I put this on you…" Sharena stretched out, bending across me to put the thin chain around my neck. I tried to stop her, but was too slow. The Askr Princess gulped heavily as she clasped the necklace together, our cheeks not too far from each other. She sat down, looking away.

"Thank you again, Sharena. Does it look good?" I asked, peering down above my chest at the little emblem. I briefly wondered if she made the necklace for Zacharias, originally

"You look great! Um, with the necklace, of course…"

I grinned at everyone, feeling so supported.

I turned to look out into the park again. And this time, everyone was there.

I blinked, taking it all in. I don't think I'd seen all our Heroes gathered in one place like that before. And I thought back to what Sharena said about the Day of Devotion. About telling those you care about. And I made a choice.

"Anna, do you think I could take the stage?" I asked, still looking out.

"Sure, but why?" asked a puzzled Anna.

I just leapt up onto the stage, feeling like I would immediately regret it if I didn't move then and there.

I cleared my throat, loudly, and politely waved out to the crowd. Some Heroes stopped their chatting to look up at me, while it took a little longer for the ones in the back to settle.

When there was quiet, I tried to start, yelling so the Heroes on the edges of the park could hear.

"Uh, hi there, everyone. So, as you can all tell, I'm Tazio. I kinda summoned you all here," I said, a little nervous. I got a few polite chuckles.

"Well, I'm really happy to see you all out here tonight, where Commander Anna has arranged for some Hoshidan fireworks for us all to enjoy!" I said, clapping my hands, pleased a vast majority followed suit.

"So, uh, here's the thing folks. While Anna and her team get them all set up, I just want to say something. I know Alfonse usually does the big speeches, so bear with me!" I said, raising my hands to the crowd. I heard some more laughs, and a few mocking 'grrr's.

"So, I'm pretty sure you all remember being summoned here to Askr. A little confused, a little hopeful, maybe a little nauseous? I got some whoops for replies. "Yeah, you all know that. I know that feeling, too. I was summoned here, and I was asked a big favour; to become a Great Hero."

The crowd was quiet, rapt. My mouth was feeling a little dry, but I'd started, so I had to plow on.

"I wasn't sure what everything meant, at first, but I grew into my role as tactician and summoner for the Order of Heroes, leaping through gateways to fight Emblia with all of you by my side, at one point or another!" I said, stretching my hand across the sea of faces.

"Heh…" I looked at my feet. "At my side. What a funny phrase to use, when I'm always behind you all, shouting directions and orders at you. In my world, I was mostly ignored, but here, you all listened, and you all cared…"

There were some nervous chuckles. Everyone stared up at me, waiting.

"It's been over a year since we all started fighting together, with some of the Heroes I summoned at the start still around, more new faces arriving every day, and some having left us for their homes. But one thing has always stayed the same, for all this time."

I took a deep breath, feeling the emotions coming up. I tried to keep them down, remembering how my father helped train me.

"You've all trusted me. All of you have put your lives in my hand, ready to be used not unlike a weapon, my fingers directing you. You have all trusted my actions, even after my numerous failures, my occasional negligence, and the floundering I had with Skill Inheritance."

"I still have a savage blow!" Hector called out, making the crowd laugh.

"Yeah, sorry again, Hector!" I called out, my nervousness building.

"As such, on today, the Day of Devotion, I wanted to just say… thank you. Thank you for your efforts. For the many triumphs. For the willingness to try and try again when we failed. Thank you for growing with me, learning with me, laughing and crying with me. Thank you, all for being our Heroes!"

I looked out into the crowd, spotting all of the faces. Everyone, all there, together, because of me.

Marth and Caeda, leaning up against a tree, Caeda's head on Marth's shoulder.

Jagen looking on, pleased at his ward, as Cain stood beside him.

The two Tiki's sighed lovingly on at Caeda and Marth, wishful, but happy still.

Abel and Est sat together, cuddling, with Palla and Catria looking on behind them with melancholy smiles.

Draug sat a smiling Gordin on his shoulder as Jeorge looked on, pleasant.

Linde and Merric sat together, magical friends till the end, watched on by a lonely looking Sheena.

Ogma, Barst and Navarre leaned against a post, warrior friends together again.

Maria sat her siblings together, with Minerva happily patting an equally happy Michalis on the back.

Katerina was next to Clarisse, as Legion, Athena, Roderick and Wrys all smiled, arm in arm.

Camus and Xander stood together, knights from different worlds, joined in brotherhood.

Celica and Alm happily fed each other food, enjoying each other's company.

Boey and Mae were quiet for once, holding hands happily, as Clive and Mathilda did the same, closer, arms wrapped around each other.

Clair held together Gray and Tobin, the best of friends happy to be together once more.

The rest of the Deliverance sat together, arm in arm, chatting, their bonds strengthening as they came together in peace. A sullen Berkut cracked a rare, sad smile as he looked up at the rising moon.

Sigurd delicately guided Deirdre by the arm, looking ever the perfect couple. Seliph tried the same with his sister, stopping as a cheerful Arvis tussled his daughter's hair.

Arden sat a cheery Taitilu on his shoulders as Ayra smiled genuinely at them both.

Lachesis held onto her older brother tightly, never letting go ever again, as beside them Reinhardt and his sister put an arm over the others shoulder, smiling warmly.

Hector gathered all his friends and relatives into a circle, laughing and crying in equal parts at his swelling family.

Roy had only eyes for Lilina, holding hands on the dry grass.

Raigh couldn't help but cry as he hugged Nino and Jaffar, who's tattered hood was disposed of for such a public event by Nino, Loyd and Ursula watching, happy for their family at last.

Cecilia watched as all her students milled about, happily keeping Gwendolyn company.

Klien stayed by his sister, who kept conversation with Shanna and Fir, a goofy Bartre and silent Karel standing guard.

Sophia, her eyes droopy, held onto a napping Fae, all as Zephiel and Hawkeye looked down at the two, Narcian by Zephiel's side, smiling despite his frizzy hair.

Matthew sat beside the unstoppable Serra, who was trying to head off to meet her new friend Selena.

Raven openly smiled, surrounded by his sister and loyal retainer, Lucius.

Rebecca and Florina kept each other's company, sitting beside Lyn and her horse.

Dorcas, lounging on a rock, held a tattered portrait to his breast, looking skyward all the while, a grinning Joshua flicking a coin absently with his new ally.

Erika smiled as she saw her brother surrounded by new friends, as she was surrounded by old one like Seth, Lyon, Amelia and Tana.

The quiet Myrrh, Marisa and Lute all kept together, waiting, longing.

Ephraim stood side-by-side with Innes and Chrom, friends forged through combat.

Soren was in heaven surrounded by three Ikes; even if he had to share with his little sister and Elincia.

Titania looked on sadly at Brave Ike's axe, misty eyed.

Mia looked out, excited by all the new sparring partners she'd get, even if one of them wasn't Reese.

Oscar was introducing Nephenee to his cooking partner, Donnel, who gave the girl his winning smile.

Micaih, Sothe and Sanaki stuck together, a big, happy family once more, as the Black Knight and Zelgius looked on, protective.

Oliver stood proudly, petting Feh, his little angel.

The Shepherds sat together, laughing and slapping each other's back, Frederick watching over them with several Chrom's, who was watched in turn by the Cordelia's.

The Robin's tried to hold back all the Tharja's, grinning all the while.

The Nowi's darted around, playing as much as she could, with anyone she could, as happy as could be, as the Henry's cackled, laughing at their own jokes.

The Lucina's spread out, some keeping with Odin, Selena and Laslow, being gawked at by Soliel, and others keeping to the side, watching, protective.

The Nohrians and Hoshidans spread out, mixing and mingling, with retainers from both countries coming together, as the princes and princesses watched the madness.

Elise and Lissa wiggled their feet together, giggling.

Camilla and Hinoka both had an armful of Corrin's each, dragging them away, a jealous Rhajat in the shadows.

Shiro and Ryoma looked out at the gathered crowd, hands to hips, finally happy in each other's company.

Siegbert smiled a little uncomfortably beside his father's in differing costumes, as Shigure was in awe at having three of his mothers in one place.

And finally, Alfonse and Fjorm, smiling up at me, their fingers millimetres apart. Anna giving me a thumb's up.

Sharena, her eyes glowing, the saddest, sweetest smile on her lips.

All of them. Caring, loving, passionate. Here. With me.

I'd never felt so lucky.

"All of you… I love you all, with all of my heart," I called out, the tears spilling out now, my emotions unchecked.

"I love you all for being my new family, for being _my Heroes_!"

I raised my Breidablik, it's light spreading across them all, illuminating them.

The crowd began to clap.

And clap.

They all began to rise to their feet, the applause filling the night air.

I held my hand over my face, so happy, but so distraught.

I stepped down, glad to have gotten it off my chest, breathing, my throat making it come out ragged and heavy.

The Heroes closest to me clapped and patted me on the back, thanking me in turn for all I'd done.

"Thank you, Tazio."

"Here, here, Tazio!"

"We love you as well, Tazio!"

I stepped back to the Order, who smiled back up at me.

"Well said, Tazio," Alfonse said, smiling up at me.

"I… I needed to say something…" I admitted, rubbing my neck sheepishly.

I looked around.

"Wait, where's Sharena?"

"Oh, I think she went off to see Alice?" Anna said.

"Wait, Alice?"

"Or, something. She was kind of hard to hear over the clapping. Wait, why?"

I don't know why, but having Sharena disappear, it put a pit down into my stomach.

I got a little frantic. I pushed through the Heroes, politely passing past them as they thanked and congratulated me. Anna tried to call me back to watch the fireworks, but I didn't look back. It took a bit, but I finally made it out of the mass that was my new family, and made my way over to Alice's café.

The sick feeling I felt grew and grew, my mouth tingling as it did. Something was just off…

I broke into a run, my arms pumping, my cloak billowing. The townsfolk were milling about the street, waiting for the fireworks, making me dive and weave through them as I headed for the west wall.

Arriving, I looked into the quiet, dark garden, looking over all the seats. Empty, making my heart sink.

"You!"

I turned to my accuser, only to receive a slap in the face.

"Ahhh," I winced, the sting making my eyes water. Recovering, I looked over to see Alice, glaring at me, crying. She raised another hand, threateningly.

"When will you stop toying with her!?" she said, swinging at me again. I blocked it this time, but she tried with her other hand.

"You pull all these stunts, and play with all the other Heroes, and she just gets ignored, time after time!" Alice screamed at me, her arms weakening as I stopped them.

"Oh no…" I breathed as Alice shook and shuddered with her sadness. "I didn't… Didn't know that…"

"No, you're so caught up in everyone you summon… If you really care, if you love her, go, now!" Alice shouted, pointing to the wall beside us. "You know where!"

It clicked in my head, knowing exactly where to go. Shouting a thank you over my shoulder, I made my way out of the city, running for a spot next to the lake the city sat beside.

As I ran, my chest burned, my legs screamed at me, and my throat felt dry and raw, but I kept going, putting everything I had into going faster.

I tried to think about what I'd say, to plan it, and make it perfect, but I could only think of that sad face looking up at me as I addressed all the Heroes, making it seem like my devotion was to them all. How I wished I could have taken it back, and told everyone how I felt about her.

Always there, always smiling, pushing me to befriend everyone alongside me, always in battle with me. Trying to be the best she could be, for my sake.

There it was. The lake, the finger of stone reaching out across it, and the starry night sky above it all.

"Sharena!"

She was sitting down, head in her hands before she turned to me. She looked shocked, but still saddened.

I sped to a stop in front of her, my body protesting at me, my lungs gasping for air, giving Sharena time to stand up, wipe her tear streaks away, and look at my feet.

"What… what do you want…" she said with a little hiccup.

"To- to say sorry!" I panted out, hoping she could hear me.

"Why would you say sorry to me… You haven't done anything wrong…" Sharena tried to put on a happy façade, her lips trembling.

"No, I have!" I stood up, my strength returning. "I kept getting closer to all the Heroes I've summoned, pushing you further and further back… I thought, after Zacharias and… your confession to me, I gave up on things becoming more…"

"Gave up…?"

"When I first arrived, you helped me get settled, you were always being so helpful and kind, and a centre for me to come to, no mater what. If it wasn't for you, I would still probably be looking for a way home," I admitted, stepping up to her. I tried to place a hand over hers. It shook.

"Because of all of that, I wanted to say sorry…"

"Well, I'm sorry for what I said…" her voice was quiet, and I could hardly hear her. "Zacharias was just a… a silly childhood crush, and when I wanted to be your best friend, I said that because you were still surrounded by all those Heroes, looking so happy, and I wanted you to stay happy, but…"

She pushed me away, her hands by her hips, balled up.

"You're so selfish, and stupid!" she howled.

And she was right. I was selfish. I kept myself surrounded by all the other Heroes, with their emotions swaying to adore me. But Sharena, I never summoned her, so her feelings couldn't be affected. "I wanted that attention too!"

I sighed. "So, today, when I gave my speech, it hurt, didn't it?"

She nodded, still looking down.

"Making it seem like I cared for everyone. But, I can't take back what I said there, because I do love all our Heroes, like a family."

Sharena whimpered, and I couldn't take it anymore. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her tighter than anyone else. She was so warm, making me think of my childhood, with my mother and father, together.

"But you… You're more than family!" I cried. "You're everything to me; the greatest friend, the prettiest girl, the kindest soul! What you are to me, I can't even describe!"

Sharena clutched at me, and looked up. My knees wobbled under me, making me collapse, taking her with me. Kneeling together, we just… looked at each other. Eyes locked.

There was a squealing to our side, as the first firework shot up, exploding into light, sound and smoke. Then the next shot up, and another, till a field of sparkling, massive flowers filled the night sky, illuminating everything.

We pulled away, our lips opening. Sharena smiled sweetly at me, and I smiled back. I took my glove off, and drew away the streaks on her face. She closed her eyes at my touch, leaning into it. We sprawled our legs out, looking up at the light show, fingers knotting together, enjoying the last hours of the Day of Devotion, and each others company.

Once the fireworks finished, I suddenly realised something.

"Oh no!" I cried, clutching at my head.

"Tazio? What's wrong?" Sharena asked, mystified.

"I need to get you a gift! You got me one, but I haven't got one for you!" I looked side to side, searching for something, anything.

"Hehe, you don't have to get me anything now," Sharena said, fingers to her lips.

"No, I have to get you something, something you can have forever, and…!"

I know it's cheesy, but I thought of something. I looked down to Sharena, and lowered a hand to her, palm open.

"How about I be your Hero from now on? Just for you?" I said, softly.

Sharena reached up and took hold of me. "I'd like that, Tazio."

I pulled her up, and hand in hand, we walked back to the city. She rested her head on my shoulder, sighing.

"Happy Day of Devotion," she said, gripping my open hand warmly.

"Happy Day of Devotion," I agreed.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: World Hopping

Man, it's been awhile since I sat down to write this. Looking back, I thought I'd be doing these things daily, but now, I'll be lucky if I sit down once a week to do this…

So, to make a long story short, I've been in to visit three new Worlds this week, liberating each one from Emblian control. They were the Worlds of Conquest, Binding, and Awakening, plus a revisit to Mystery, and oh my, were they something…

To start off with, I guess I should mention the Bartre has been coming to my door every morning, rousing me at the crack of dawn to go running, to get me into shape, he says, along with some boxing practice. Or what stands in for boxing for Bartre, which is punching his stomach. I think, after all our practise, punching my wall would be better for my fists.

But his efforts haven't been in vain. I feel healthier than I have ever been before! Which is good, as we've been running all over the place.

After our adventure to the summoning ruins, we received a report of Xander returning to his World with a contingent of soldiers. Fearing that they'd be gathering Heroes from the World of Conquest with Xander's pull, we headed out immediately, with my main team, as well as royal guards to guard the cart we took this time.

We were able to reach the gateway easily enough, in the plains to the east, and I was surprised to find twin gateways, facing each other. One was an obsidian colour, with golden lines across it's frame, and beside it was a white gate with red lines running across it. The same, but opposites. I wanted to ask Alfonse for some clarification, but he barged right through the gateway, ready for his rematch with Xander. Sharena followed suit, clearly excited.

"Come, Tazio, we've got a World to save!" Anna ordered, stepping through with my team. I sighed, waved at the two guards, hoping they'd be alright while we were gone, and followed after glancing at the white door. I felt like I saw another, grey and blue door in the faint distance, but it could have been nothing…

It didn't take long for us to find Xander. He had placed himself on an island separated from us by a thick river that scrawled across the land. On a larger stretch of land, his royal siblings readied themselves.

"So, you have come to battle us?" Xander called out, pointing to us with his sword as soon as we'd gathered. "This will be the second time you face my blade," he observed. He looked over to his siblings, nodding at their Camilla. "We are all bound by a contract with Princess Veronica. And yet…"

"Quite talking, let's fight, come on, round two!" I called out, interrupting the knight prince. I had no time for his prattle. I'm sure it wasn't important, anyway.

"Fine, if you wish to meet death so swiftly, come child!" Xander roared, poised for a fight.

"You're the only one with an appointment for death today!" I called back, felling good about my comeback, only to see the awkward looks from my comrades. Alfonse just shook his head, and Sharena tried to smile, unconvincingly.

"Fine, let's just get this done," I grizzled, blushing.

I send Nowi, with Alfonse for backup, to deal with Xander as he came from his island. Our Camilla settled across the river, looking at her original, blowing a kiss her other tossed her hair aside, gripping her brave axe.

Lyn, Anna and Sharena prepared themselves at the bridge to the south, where Leo, the second prince of Nohr, and their Elise, would have to come from.

It all happened at once. Xander roared across the bridge, faster this time, aiming for Alfonse. At the same time, Camilla soared across the river for our wyvern rider, teeth glinting.

Leo galloped over, his dark tome glowing sickly purple colours, with Elise preparing her staff behind him.

Nowi shot her breath attack to Xander, knocking his horse down. Alfonse sprung forward, smacking the legendary Siegfried away, disarming Xander. Our Camilla clashed blades with theirs, their lavender hair tossing together as their faces came close to colliding. Their wyverns flapped backwards and forwards, darting into one another time and time again, axes smashing, the cries of flying reptiles filling the sky.

Lyn ran to intercept Leo, with Sharena as backup. She was able to avoid the blasts of magical trees that formed under her, jumping and dashing away. Sharena sliced through the magic with her lance once Lyn had escaped.

Camilla, ours, had dove down into the river, using the same tactics we'd employed in the World of Mystery to splash a wave of water into enemy Camilla's face, tossing her away, defeated, her axe falling away.

Xander, meanwhile, rose to fight Alfonse in single combat. He snatched at Al's sword hand, twisting it away, disarming him. He then swiped a fist at the Askr prince's face, only for him to tilt back, kicking at Xander, freeing himself. Al charged in to headbutt the taller Xander, only to be headbutted himself, tossing the two fighters away. Nowi kept her eyes trained on Xander, but couldn't attack with the two princes so close.

Lyn had caught up to Leo, who was back peddling from the charging women, only to have his horse slashed at. He tumbled out of his stirrups as the horse bolted. He tried grabbing for his tome, Brynhildr apparently, only for Sharena to kick it away, her lance pointed at Leo. He grimaced, and sighed, defeated.

Lyn continued on, to capture the lone Elise, who, startled, ran around the attacking Lyn quicker than I'd expected, running up to Leo. Using her gravity attack, she held Sharena down, keeping her still, even as I called out for Anna to support her comrade. Leo and Elise fled as soon as the Prince had grabbed his tome and had climbed up behind his sister, just as Anna belted across the bridge to meet them. With dirt kicked up under it's hooves, the pony galloped away.

Xander and Alfonse struggled alone, but it seemed clear Xander was winning. He punched Alfonse up off his feet with an uppercut, sending the boy to the floor. Standing over him, Xander, panting, looked down at the young prince.

"Still not enough…"

Nowi attacked, blasting at Xander, tossing him aside for his lack of awareness. Preparing another attack, Nowi was instead kicked at by the flying Camilla, still axeless.

I had forgotten about the wyvern sibling, caught up in the other two battles, and hadn't enough time to call out to Nowi before she attacked.

The dazed Nowi could only watch with Alfonse as Camilla picked Xander up, riding up into the air, out of our reach.

"You have more talent than I thought!" the crown prince of Nohr admitted, looking down at Alfonse as he crawled to his feet, spitting out a glob of blood from his lips. "But now my family and I know what you can do. You will never survive the battles next to come. Against each of us, with our loyal retainers at our side!"

At that Camilla and Xander fled, heading for the west.

We quickly gathered, with Elise tending to the wounded, mostly Alfonse.

"We have to push ahead, and take Xander out properly," Anna said after checking on Al's condition.

"I agree. I think Xander will head for Castle Krakenburg," Alfonse said, feeling his swollen lip go down with his healing uniform.

"In the west, right?" I added, looking in the direction Xander and Camilla had gone.

"Indeed. Come, we have a lot of ground to cover," Al nodded, heading straight ahead, fire in his eyes.

It didn't take long for us to reach the border into Nohr. There, we met the Conquest Elise, with her retainers Effie and Arthur guarding the massive, daunting gateway into the darklands.

We made short work of the retainers and Elise, strolling through the otherwise deserted passageway. Elise shivered and quaked the whole way through, eyes wide after seeing Camilla ruthlessly slash down the other Elise. Her older sister came up to her, consoling her, reminding her that I'd never let anything bad happen to her, lest I want my head removed from my shoulders. Elise was only marginally comforted…

Nowi played with Elise then, playing a version of eye-spy as she rode behind the princess, perking her up, till we ran into a fog filled swamp. Using my vision, I was able to guide the party ahead easily enough, around the murky ponds and tripping mangrove roots.

It didn't take long till I heard a familiar voice ahead.

"Come on, Lord Leo, just try it, once? Please?"

"I am not saying something so ridiculous. We are fighting them, not entertaining them,"

"No, no, it'll strike them down with fear that'll paralyse them! We just have to do it confidently, and in synch. Otherwise, it'll all be for naught."

"If you need help, Lord Leo, I'm sure I _could_ help with the movements…"

"No that's fine- not so close, Niles!"

"Leave the prince alone, Niles!"

"I should say the same to you, Odin…"

"Wait, I hear them coming… Shhh!"

We walked into view of the trio. Odin stood, head bowed, arms across his face like an 'x'. Leo looked across to use, in contempt, while Niles grinned in open contempt of Odin.

Odin whispered harshly. "Come on, we have to do it now!"

"Fools! You shall not pass us by!" Leo said, ignoring Odin.

Odin erupted into movement, bringing his hands to his side, scattering blue dust across himself. "Your end is nigh, foes of the anointed prince! Your legend ends here, at the hands of power undefined, unrestrained!"

"Odin, you can stop now…" Leo said under his breath.

He just got louder. "Our might, from another world, lost in time and memory, shall warp your very perceptions, and drown your mind in darkness the likes of light could never pierce! Bear witness to the combined might of; Brynhildr Battalion!" Odin held his hand out to us, cape between his fingers, grinning all the while, his eyes darting across to see if his comrades were following suit.

"I only work with him, I'll have you know. We aren't friends," Niles called out to us.

My troops were in position by the time they were all finished, allowing us to quickly push into the tangle of trees and mulch that separated us from the, erm, Brynhildr Battalion… I gotta give it to Odin, that's kinda catchy…

Alas, with Nowi taking control of the centre of the battlefield, it didn't take long before Leo and his retainers were vanishing into the choking mists.

"Not far to go now…" Alfonse called out as we pushed out into the darkened plains of Nohr, away from the swamps.

"So we're close to Krakenburg?" Sharena called out.

"Hey, we might see Corrin there!" Elise said excitedly to Camilla.

"Oh, I dearly hope so," she replied, rubbing a hand to her cheek.

"We still have to pass through a volcanic region, unfortunately," Anna called out, pointing to a smoke belching volcano in the distance.

"Oh, right… we have to pass through there…" Camilla sighed.

'There' turned out to be an unsteady passage through rivers of lava, guarded by the World's Camilla and her retainers; Beruka and Selena.

Our passage ahead was only through the stony paths over the lava, leaving no room to maneuver easily, so we could only intercept Camilla and her retainers on their terms. Luckily, our Camilla dealt with the fliers that flapped high over the steaming lava flow, her axe flashing in the murky light of the molten rock.

Punching through, we reached the Castle. It sat above a huge, gaping hole, connected to the surrounding walls by powerful, road wide chains and bridges, and yet, I didn't feel comfortable heading inside such a precarious structure. But inside we went, slaying the Emblian soldiers that guarded the entrance in seconds.

Inside it was cold and lifeless, with haunting paintings and statues decorating the walls. We eventually found the way to the throne room, where Xander awaited.

"How intriguing. You managed to battle your way to me," he said, looking out to Alfonse and myself. "Princess Veronica said the Order of Heroes had the advantage of a Legendary summoner. Clearly, that is true. Still, we'll put a stop to you," He looked to his retainers beside him, who nodded up at him.

"Laslow? Peri? Let's show them that we will not fall to their force!" He said, raising Siegfried.

"Come on, let's give them a force they can't overcome!" I cried out to spite him, raising Breidablik in turn.

Everyone entered the fray in the cramped, stone hallway. Peri, a girl with light-blue hair, frayed and wild over her face, charged at us, screaming at the top of her lungs, clear bloodlust in her eyes, her lance, covered in streaks of crimson, low. Camilla intercepted her, slicing her up before she could do the same to Elise.

Lyn assaulted an Emblian axe cavalier, hoping onto it's back to swat it away with two clean cuts. Xander, meanwhile, moved into a corner, out of the range of Nowi's breath attacks. Hugging the wall, the pink-haired Laslow by his side, they galloped between Anna and Sharena.

"Hello, lovelies," Laslow said with a wink before thrusting his sword arm at Anna, catching her axe, and tossing it aside. Xander pounced onto Anna in her defenceless state, only to be blocked by Sharena.

"Go!" she called to her commander, who leaped with a roll out of Laslow's next attack.

Nowi swatted her tail at Laslow, hurling him against a wall, where he vanished, grinning all the while, looking out at Sharena and Elise.

"Al, go!" I called, pointing at Xander. I could almost feel the heat coming off him, ready for his rematch.

"Don't hurt my sister!" Al howled as he tackled Xander off his horse, punching him in his pristine jaw as they tumbled.

"Like you didn't hurt mine!" Xander roared back, bashing Alfonse over the head with the flat of Siegfried, sending him sprawling.

Sharena ran to help her brother up, but I held her back with an arm.

"I think Al needs this win," I told her, never taking my eyes off the fight.

Xander stepped over to Alfonse in an instant, wasting no time, slashing at his head. Al was able to block the attack with his sword, only just. Al kicked at Xander's shin, tilting the prince over, letting Alfonse get to his feet.

Al scrambled up, retreating a space, as Xander, wincing, climbed atop his horse once more.

"Enough games, boy. You _will_ be destroyed, for the glory of Nohr, and Emblia!" Xander cried, snapping his reigns, sending his horse galloping.

I could feel even more warmth coming off of Alfonse now. His blade glowed a sunlit yellow, and his stance was ready.

"I apologise…" he said as Xander bared down on him. He swung his sword in a great arc, light coming off of him as he cut down the prince of Nohr, sending him flying away.

"Sol…" Anna breathed beside me, looking on as Alfonse's wounds healed up, the light fading.

Panting, Alfonse walked over to the fallen lord, gasping on his back.

"You are beaten," Al huffed, pointing the tip of his blade down at Xander.

Xander looked up, grimacing in pain, before smiling lightly.

"You fought well," he coughed out. "I admit… defeat. This means that the contract that binds us is now broken. Those of my World are no longer compelled to fight you…" He looked up to me and Anna as we gathered behind Alfonse. "Or to invade the Askran Kingdom. But I," Xander said, struggling up, his legs shaking. "I choose to stay at the side of Princess Veronica,"

"But why? She's evil!" Sharena cried out at my side.

"Maybe, but… I see loneliness in her eyes. Not unlike the sibling I once saw locked away from the outside world. A sibling I care for greatly," Xander admitted. "So, the next time we meet, I will defeat you, for her."

Alfonse looked on as the prince faded away, scowling.

"Well, that's that! Mission accomplished!" I said, as soon as Xander had left, rubbing my hands together. "Good work everyone!" I said, putting a hand out to high-five Sharena.

"What's that?" She asked, innocently looking at my outstretched hand.

"Oh, you don't do high-fives… Put your hand up, like mine," I instructed, showing her how to high-five, her face lighting up as our hands met together, making a satisfying clapping sound.

Once healed, we all made the slow trek back to the gateway. We chatted away, but Alfonse was quieter than usual. I let him be, proud of how well he'd fought.

We returned to the castle without incident, heading straight for the meal table, realising how hungry we were. Anna told all of us to rest well that night, as there was a report of activity near the gateway of Binding.

And sure enough, the next day, we headed straight to the gateway in question. Entering, we were immediately greeted by a fiery-headed boy with large, caring eyes.

He was named Roy, and was leading his countries army at his sickly father's behalf, he informed us, gesturing to the Emblian cavaliers supporting him.

He apologised profusely before we entered the battle, ashamed that his contract forced him to fight other nobles. Yet still, he readied his blade for combat, charging right for us with his forces right behind.

He made short work of the cavaliers and archer supporting them, forcing Roy to flee. It was pretty simple, so I won't write down all we did in that battle. Just know, we won.

"Quick, we must defeat Roy if we wish to sever Emblia's control over this World!" Anna informed me, running after the boy. But he was quick, disappearing behind a mountain range before Camilla could take back to the air to follow.

"Do all Worlds have important individuals that will rally the other inhabitants?" I asked as we ran, trying to catch up to the willy boy.

"Some worlds have more than one! This one, in the past, had three Lords at once," Alfonse told me as we ran.

"Three at once? Why do I feel like that's an omen…?"

"Look, ahead!" Sharena cried out.

There, ahead of us, was a river, with twin bridges running across it. On the other side was Roy, talking to a woman atop a horse with green hair. He gestured at us, urgently.

I sighed, and got my team ready to assault the bridges. I was sort of tired of bridge crossings at that point.

Once we'd dealt with the two ladies Roy had beset on us, including his teacher, Cecilia, we tried to pick up his trail. But, it was already too late. He'd fled, slowing us with the river crossing.

"Damn!" Anna cursed.

"Ok, where would Roy go?" I asked, turning to Alfonse.

"All sorts of places…" He admitted, thinking.

Al finally figured out three places Roy might have fled to, with the first being the closest; a desert village with dragons hidden in it.

Heading there, we promptly found the desert village surrounded by his allies, but no Roy.

"Oh, look, new friends to play with!" a pudgy child said, coming towards us in the blustery sands.

"Wait, Fae, don't go near them!" A young girl in long purple robes with lavender hair called out, but it was too late.

Transforming as she giggled towards us, the child Fae turned into…

You know what, I'm still not sure she's a dragon. Sure, she has a breath attack, but she's got feathers running down her body instead of scales! Dragons have scales, much like dinosaurs do. _Fight me._

In any case, Lyn, with a 'sorry', ran up to cut Fae down, sending yellow and blue feathers twirling across the sandy dunes.

Nowi and Elise cleaned up the dark mages that came out to attack the destroyers of Fae, which included Raigh, of all people. This Raigh yelled angrily at us for taking the little chicken-dragon away. I could only smile at how concerned Raigh seemed to be for the young girl. I knew he cared for others, deep down.

Next, passing out of the desert, Alfonse directed us towards a snowy country in the North of Elibe, the continent we were on. Alfonse explained that many mercenaries Roy fought with came from the snow-capped country, and he might have headed there for help against us.

Instead of Roy, we found Bartre flanked by his teenage daughter Fir, and a Pegasus knight named Shanna.

Separated by a huge mountain range, we divided and conquered, with Nowi, Alfonse and Anna taking on the north side, tackling Bartre and a random Emblian archer shivering in it's battle skirt, while Sharena, Lyn and Camilla assaulted the east corner where Fir and Shanna came down.

Alfonse and Anna dispatched the frantic Bartre, looking for his daughter amongst the confusion, while Nowi blasted away the frozen archer.

"Fir? Fir!" he tried to call out over the rushing snow before Anna slammed her axe's head into his gut, with Alfonse delivering the coup de grace with his sword to the neck.

Sharena met Shanna on the side of the mountain, running up it's sloped side to clash lance tips, while Lyn and Fir squared off.

"Hey, you look like a great person to meet! And you fight really well too," Shanna said brightly as she fought Sharena.

"I was thinking the exact same thing, you seem amazing! When Tazio summons you, we're going to be best friends, I swear!" Sharena said before plunging her lance up into Shanna's side, smiling all the while. Thankfully, Shanna smiled as she faded away as well.

Fir dodged Lyn's first attack, dancing away, her own curved sword glinting in the white snow, her boots crunching through it.

"Wow, you're good, miss!" she exclaimed, trading blows with Lyn.

"You aren't too bad yourself. With more training, you'll be as good as a swordswoman I once fought!" Lyn complemented the young girl.

"I hope so, I wanna do my mother proud!" Fir said, lunging at Lyn. Too much of a lunge, however, as Lyn dodged and hacked at her arm, and slid her sword right through Fir as she extended too far, over a short ledge.

"Egh, maybe we'll spar… another… time…" Fir managed to breath as she faded away on Lyn's Sol Katti.

We regrouped once our foes had faded away, meeting at the branch between the passages. Nowi shivered in the snow with her little outfit on, so I pulled my cloak off, throwing it over her shoulders. She pulled it around her closely, and smiled up at me, grateful.

"Alfonse, where's the last place Roy'd go?" I asked him, rubbing my shoulders against the chill as he pulled a map of Elibe out from his belt.

"Well, it's only a theory, but it's possible he's heading for Ostia, to meet up with Lilina," Alfonse said, poking at a central region, at a cave under a volcano.

"More lava?" Anna whined. "My family hates lava…"

"In any case, we should head there, if that's the last place you can think of," I said, gesturing at the map.

"We'd best get a move on. The longer we wait, the more chance he has to vanish," Alfonse commented, rolling the map up.

At that, we struck off, back down to the centre of Elibe, passing through the open, gentle plains of Sacae as we did. Lyn paused for a moment there, the wind catching her hair and hem of her tunic as she looked out, smiling.

"You ok Lyn?" I asked, standing by her side.

"Yes," she said, walking away after a moment. "Yes, I am alright. Just nostalgic, I suppose…"

We made our way to the volcano Alfonse indicated, heading down into the cave, following the glow of more lava in it's bowels. Coming out of a large, carved entrance, we arrived at a cavern, a large vein of the hot stuff bubbling in front of us. Across the way, through the vapor, I could just make out Roy with two other figures on the boiling red rocks.

He spotted us as well, calling his allies close. "My friends, Prince Alfonse and his group has arrived. We must do our best to defeat them! How odd, that we can be free of our contract if we fail to do so…"

"There he is!" I called out, pointing. "He's getting ready, so we must as well," I told my allies.

"How do you know he's preparing for battle?" Alfonse asked.

"Wait, can't you hear him?" I asked, looking back at Roy and the two girls beside him.

"Nope…" Sharena said, peering out to where I was looking.

"Lilina, you must unleash your fiercest flames!" Roy called to his red-clad friend beside him, readying his newer, regaler blade; the Binding Blade.

With that, Roy's allies dispersed, readying their weapons; Lilina, the girl in red, with her red-hot tome, and a girl in orange battle armour named Gwendolyn readied her lance, a wicked hook attached to the end.

Looking at the battlefield, I saw there was only one way to Roy and co.; a narrow path above the lava flow, unless I sent Camilla across first…

I sent Nowi in first instead, her dragon form blocking the way forward for Roy. But he lunged ahead, his sword crashing into Nowi's hide.

Doing absolutely nothing to the scaled dragon.

"Huh, I thought the Binding Blade was effective against dragons as well?" Alfonse mused, before shrugging.

Nowi absently scratched under her snout before arcing a stream of lightning onto Roy, blasting him backwards. Lilina came up then, trying to eradicate Nowi with hellfire summoned forth from her tome, but Nowi shot another stream across to her as well, obliterating her in an instant.

"I kinda thought things would be tougher, you know?" I admitted in dismay, absently kicking a pebble into the river of lava, looking at the diminishing battlefield participants.

"Should I deal with the big girl?" Camilla asked, turning to me beside the river.

"Knock yourself out," I said, waving her off, walking around Nowi. The battle was already over, in my mind.

I walked up to Roy, his weapon far away from him. To my side, Camilla broke apart the lance Gwendolyn with her Corrin's teeth as she hacked at the poor girl's defensively raised arms with her axe.

"I think we just won, Roy ol' boy," I said, squatting before the young leader. He couldn't have been more than 16 or 17, I realised.

"Yaa!" I saw Elise knock away the lone troubadour with her staff, sending it crying into the lava. Elise giggled to herself happily.

"You- You've more than proven that your power is superior to ours. Well done, Prince Alfonse," He said, nodding to the man behind my shoulder. "But I believe that I should give most of the credit to your talented tactician, Tazio!" Roy said, looking up at me, clearly in awe.

"Awww, shucks," I said, waving the boy down. "You'll make me go all red!"

He started to fade away, his power failing. "Now, farewell! May we all battle on the same side, one day," he said, solemnly holding his hand to his chest as he disappeared into nothingness.

I groaned as I stood up, stretching out my arms.

"Anyone for lunch?" I asked, walking back out of the cavern, expecting the others to follow.

Once more, we returned to the Askran castle, making it back before lunch this time, getting back to the gateway much faster this time. Nowi returned my cloak before we entered the volcano, but I felt like washing it, so I did so, heading straight down for the bathhouse.

Only to be interrupted by Sharena again.

"Tazio? Tazio!" she called out, running into the steamy room.

"Sharena?!" I called out, turning away from the entering Princess, grabbing at my towel around my waist.

"We've got another urgent mission, get changed and come on!" she ordered before leaving once more.

Quickly drying my cloak, I changed and raced back to the castle, passing the training grounds as I passed. I spotted Raigh and Nino practising magic, with Odin close by, eagerly awaiting a chance to shout his super-move.

I ran and leaped into the cart, clearing the lip in a single bound this time. I guess Bartre's workouts are helping…

Racing to the coast, we found a gateway just a bit further up from the port, sitting on a lone hill. I could just see the island leading to the World of Mystery out on the sea from the hill.

"This is the gateway to the World of Awakening," Anna informed me as we stepped through. "It was one of the first Worlds explored in Askr's glory days."

"Really?" I asked. "Because it was so close to the castle?"

"Possibly, we don't have many records of that time," Anna said with a wink.

"That just makes me more curious…" I muttered.

We arrived in an empty field, with long, golden grass swaying in the light breeze. I, unfortunately stumbled over as soon as we left the gate, landing on my backside as I did.

Sharena and Alfonse looked down at me, smiling at my fall.

"Come on, Tazio. It'll do you no good to lay there all day," Alfonse said, reaching a hand down to me.

"We've got a mission to do!" Sharena said, holding another hand out. I gripped both firmly, letting my friends pull me upright.

I don't know why, but I got the strangest sense of déjà vu from it all… oh well! A mystery for another day!

Anna lead the way, heading for a historic battlefield, where reports of a contracted Chrom had been spotted.

We entered a valley, with narrow cliff sides, forcing us to a single bridge leading to a pleasant, open field.

Once again, I had the strangest sense of déjà vu; like I'd been there before… more than once…

I wasn't able to articulate my strange sense, as there was a call from the middle of the field.

"You're the invaders from this so-called Order of Heroes?" In the middle of the field was Chrom, Frederick, and Lissa, staring angrily up at us.

"Invaders?" Sharena looked puzzled, pointing to herself.

"We've gotten word from the Emblian soldiers that you've come here to raze our realm."

"Wait, Prince Chrom, we are here to save your kingdom!" Alfonse tried in vain to call out to the brash royal.

He either didn't hear us, or didn't want to. "I'm warning you now; no one will bring harm to the Halidom of Ylisse. Not on my watch! Now you face my Shepheards. Lissa! Frederick! To battle!" he cried, raising his sleek, gold and silver sword high.

"Ahh, that's the future form of Falchion?" Alfonse mused beside me, nodding in approval.

"Geek out over it later!" I cried, setting my team up for battle.

I saw the mixed fighters in front of me, and again, the choke point leading to us. I figured it'd be good to set Lyn in front, able to take Frederick's axe reasonably well, seeing as he'd be reaching us first.

As the armoured knight charged towards the bridge, I got Lyn ready for the full attack, setting her low, prepared.

Frederick clopped onto the stone bridge, his axe held high.

"Prepare yourselves!" he called out, his horse rearing up. "Pick a god and pray!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself…" I murmured. "Camilla, now!"

Coming down from her perch on the valley hill, Camilla cannoned down into Frederick, knocking him and his squealing horse, kicking and writhing, into the water, the knight's heavy armour dragging him under the splashing water in an instant.

"No, Frederick!" Chrom cried, charging at us now, his sword ready.

"Get ready, Lyn," I told her, but she was.

Or so she thought.

The brash young prince charged at the noblewoman, swinging his blade down heavily, with intense ferocity. Lyn got out of the way, leaping to the stop railing of the bridge, and back, waiting for an opening. Chrom shattered a portion of the structure with his swings, cracking a whole section of the sturdy stonework into the water.

"Woah…" I breathed, seeing the raw power of Chrom with his Falchion. Ours was only a four-star, and didn't have access to his Falchion yet. I shudder to think how tough he'll become then, and how many training dummies we'll loose from then on.

Luckily, Lissa wasn't as much trouble. As Lyn kept Chrom preoccupied, Sharena and Anna dashed over to intercept Lissa, the Shepheard's healer.

"Are you sure about this?" Sharena asked as they stepped before the dainty princess. "She isn't that tough…"

"I'm not delicate!" Lissa cried out, running up and batting Sharena over the head with her staff, making her fall to the floor, rubbing it. Anna shoved the assaulting cleric out of the way before swinging her axe into the poor girl, ending her, tears streaming down her eyes.

"What, no, Lissa!"

Chrom stopped his wild attacks at the sound of Lissa's death cry, turning to find his little sister fading from existence. Turning to Lyn and Alfonse, who'd joined the melee, he looked furious, his lip curling in barely controlled anger.

"We will not admit defeat so easily…" He said, pointing the sword at the two fighters before turning on his heel, heading right for me! "The rest of the Shepherds will stop you!"

Nowi, in her dragon form, grabbed me and pulled me skyward as Chrom charged at us, powering into the valley. "Our bonds are strong! So, we will never submit to you, villains!" he swore, disappearing into the countryside.

I looked back at the disappearing Chrom. Patting her arm, I said, "Thanks for the save Nowi, I don't think he would have slowed down. You can put me down now Nowi…"

Nowi looked on at the fleeing man, Falchion still glinting in the light. She tightened her grip.

"Nowi? Nowi!" I said, swatting at her side as she began crushing my chest.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, Tazio!" Nowi exclaimed, letting go of the handhold in the cliffside, falling back to the floor.

"We always let the important Heroes get away!" Sharena said, kicking at the ground once Elise had healed up the bump on her head.

"These things happen, Sharena," Anna said. "There's no point getting frustrated with what we can't change. Our duty now is to go and find Chrom, before Emblia gets any useful troops out of this World."

"Yeah, I guess…" Sharena said, moping.

"Yeah, I'm not a fan of this trend either… But, hey, we might meet some new Heroes you can befriend, right Sharena?" I said, trying to raise her and my spirits.

"Yeah… ok…" The poor girl was still sullen. I'm not sure why she was so unhappy, even now.

As we walked, following the narrow track Chrom had to have taken, I tried to explain to Nowi that when we come up against Chrom, with his Falchion, that she'd be strong enough to take a single blow.

"Chrom, while he looked strong, he isn't very fast," I explained to her. "I think you could let him in close, and defeat him before he can do anything about it. In fact, I'm sure you can do this!" I said, giving her the thumbs up as she looked down at me from my shoulders.

"Hmmmm… Ok, I trust you, Tazio…" The manakete said, not looking entirely convinced.

"Heads up, gate ahead!" Came a call from Elise at the front.

And sure enough, there was another stone gateway, well, more of a wall than a gate, unlike the one into Nohr. And this one had a dancer, Olivia, and the swordsman, Lon'qu, guarding it besides an armoured and bow soldier from Emblia.

I recognised the Heroes from my past summons, and the Heroes the Order had procured before I arrived. I knew that Olivia could user her dancing to revitalise her allies on the battlefield to move further and hit harder. And with Lon'qu before her, he could rip through our defences, if I wasn't careful.

I then looked at the other side of the gate, looking at the hulking lance soldier, backed up by an archer behind the wall.

"Alright…" I thought, weighing my options, looking up at Nowi. "Got a big job for you, lil sis,"

"Huh?" she cocked her head in confusion.

"Oh, I meant big sis, big sis!"

Before long, Nowi charged out into the battle, sitting herself between the front wall and a fence of trees beside the wall, blocking off the way forward for Lon'qu.

The serious mercenary charged at Nowi, headless of the danger he was putting himself in. Olivia tried to call him back, but the man ignored her.

As quick as a flash of lightning, Lon'qu slashed at Nowi's hide, his wicked blade slicing cleanly through the air.

But that was all it sliced, leaving the Hero defenceless otherwise. Nowi growled down at the man, incinerating him point blank with her lightning.

Olivia could only look away, covering her face as Lon'qu vanished.

"Lyn, Elise, push up!" I called, sending the duo up to deal with Olivia, before goading the archer to them.

With that, Camilla, with Anna for support, dealt with the lance holding armoured unit. With all these units out of the way, Sharena and Alfonse headed into the centre of the structure, dealing with all the remaining soldiers on watch.

"Wait, there he is!" Sharena called out once every soldier had fallen, pointing to the back of the outpost. Running to catch up, I saw the back of Chrom's tattered cape fluttering in the icy wind, heading into further wilderness.

"Wait, come back!" Alfonse tried to call out, his words caught by the wind.

But it was too late. He was long gone, the powerful man's stamina keeping him going where we couldn't, his sword always revitalising him.

"Ok, this is getting annoying… Next time we meet him, I'm sending you guys around to head him off," I said, pointing at Anna, Alfonse and Sharena.

We trudged on, passing through the snow and into a bleak mountain range. Seeing how narrow the passage was ahead, I let my guard down, our squad spreading out, chatting away as we travelled along amicably.

"Woah, how deep do you think the canyon is, Tazio?" Sharena asked, tugging on my cloak as we walked beside the precarious lip.

"Deep enough for it to hurt if we fell, I bet…" I said, gulping.

"Do you have canyons like this in your World?"

"Sure, plenty. I've even been to a few here and there, when the need for travel struck my father," I said, thinking back, smiling.

"You don't talk about your father a lot, do you?" Sharena asked, poking my shoulder.

"Err…" My mind wandered, away from the family getaways. "Not too much to talk about really…" I admitted. "You don't wanna hear about someone who's long dead anyway,"

"Long-?"

"For Lord Chrom!" someone cried out over the still air.

"Ahh, nuts…"

Above us, to the east, was a red-headed woman in sterling armour atop a white Pegasus, her lance across her back. Turning my head, I could just see more Emblian Pegasus riders coming in now, surrounding us.

"Quickly, gather around Tazio!" Alfonse ordered, backing up to me. "You need to enter your trance, while we deal with this ambush," he told me.

I nodded and quickly sat down, letting my vision fly up above the world, only to spy a spectrum of Emblian fliers, alongside the Hero Alfonse called Cordelia.

"Really wish we'd brought Virion…" I muttered to myself, before sending Camilla out to deal with Cordelia, Lyn and Elise up to the axe flier, Alfonse and Nowi towards a sword flier, and Anna and Sharena towards the lance flier, with me alone on the floor.

I was taking a huge gamble, hoping that my allies could, while paired up, deal with all our foes before they reached defenceless me.

My faith was rewarded, as Camilla, while her wyvern was slower than Cordelia's mount, was more ferocious, and ripped the poor brave-lance holder to shreds. Alfonse and Nowi worked in tandem to take the sword flier, with Nowi flipping the prince skyward with a toss of her powerful arms, my timing helping them crash into the startled flier, defeating it in a single blow. Nowi caught the prince again, clapping happily.

Lyn and Elise used their tried and true Gravity and critical attack combo, with the axe flier frozen in place as Lyn hopped up the steep mountain face. With a flash, she removed the axe head as she passed the flier. She blinked, surprised, as she looked at the bladeless staff in her hands before Lyn came crying down on top of her, slashing her to ribbons.

Anna waited patiently for the other flier in a little nook inside the mountain range. After watching her allies falling, the lance flier made a mad dash for me. Seeing an opportunity, Anna hopped onto the back of the Pegasus as it skimmed down the side of the mountain towards me, her axe digging into the fliers back.

"Hey, look everyone, I overclassed!" Anna said proudly, gripping at the reigns of the Pegasus above everyone's head.

Before it faded moments after its master, sending her tumbling to the floor. Seeing no one else close to her, I broke my vision, ran at the nearby mountain wall, kicking off it to meet Anna mid-fall, catching her in my arms. I'm really glad I kept a close eye on Lyn's acrobatics, otherwise I'm sure I'd be dead of worse right now.

"Oh, my Hero!" she cried as I landed roughly, my knees buckling awkwardly under the extra weight. I dumped the Commander to her feet unceremoniously, fearing I'd drop her otherwise, gasping.

"Wow, good catch, Tazio!" Sharena said, slapping me on the back.

"It's good to see you can get your hands dirty when the need arises," Camilla remarked, landing next to us, her Corrin chewing on the remains of Cordelia's lance.

"Just… Exercise caution, as well," Alfonse added, coming up to me. "We can heal, and if need be, return to the castle if we fall in battle. Our link to Breidablik when we joined the Order of Heroes will save us from death, but for you, however…"

"Gotcha, no more death-defying stunts…" I breathed, giving a thumbs up.

"I still appreciate what you did for me Tazio," Anna said with a smile, hefting her axe over her shoulder.

We made the rest of the way through the canyon without incident, reaching an abandoned village at the top of a hill, nestled in a crater.

"How's there a village here?" I asked, gesturing around at the crater. "They'd be flooded out in an instant!"

"Maybe they use the copious water to feed the crops in the valley below them?" Anna postulated, looking at the stone runways through the crumbling structures, looking almost like aqueducts.

Shrugging, we walked into the old village, spying figures jostling between the pillars there.

Before long, it was clear the Emblian soldiers were filling the village, poking at the empty homes or stomping on the dead gardens. Also there, was Donnel, and a woman with pigtailed, white hair.

And, for the strangest reason, I felt like I knew her…

I guess my déjà vu sense was going overboard on this trip…

We struck hard and fast, before the soldiers knew what was happening.

Camilla dived over a pile of sturdy, dusty bricks, her wyvern landing atop Donnel, a claw easily crushing the pot-helmet, and its inhabitant, like an egg, the boys cries for help quickly snuffed out. Camilla smiled cruelly.

Before the bow cavalier could get into position to take down the wyvern princess, Lyn kicked at the pillar in front of it, exploding brick fragments into the archer's face, stunning him, allowing Lyn to follow up with a slash across his chest, evaporating him.

The Askr trio ran down the middle of the village once Elise destroyed a pillar in their way. Anna collided into a troubadour at the back of the village while Sharena and Alfonse cornered the white-haired girl in dark robes.

Undeterred, the girl sent forth green wolves, not unlike Raighs, at the royals, their glowing jaws snapping at them.

Swiping through them, not unlike Xander did not too long ago, Alfonse charged for the girl. But, seeing the attack long before it arrived, the girl blocked the prince with a massive wolf head, again, not unlike Raigh, disappearing under the confusion of the magical attack's particles. I'm not sure how she did it. Despite the surprise attack, that girl was able to move around the battlefield reasonably well, anticipating my unit's movements.

"Follow her!" Alfonse cried out after being blown back by the wolf-tome attack. "She's Chrom's tactician!"

Gathering my team, we headed through the village as Anna and Sharena held back to help Alfonse onto his feet.

I tried to follow the tactician down the hill, even pulling myself onto Elise's pony (or is it a horse? I need to check…), charging down at breakneck pace. I worried we'd lose her as well, till I saw her pull into a series of pillared islands, joined by rickety wooden bridges, creating a web of passages across the high-rise earth mounds.

We passed through a series of bridges ourselves, following behind and to the right of the tactician, until we were on a rectangular islet, joined by two bridges in front of us.

With Chrom right in front of us, finally.

"You made it all this way?" He asked, outstretching his arms to us. "What a shame that people with your skills are fighting on the wrong side…"

"We're fighting to save you, you morons!" I called out. Chrom ignored me.

"But you'll get no further – not even with that talented tactician of yours; because we have our own… Robin!" The tactician looked up at Chrom, her eyes darting across the field, taking everything in.

"Lead us to victory! The Shepherds must get these villains to reverse their course!"

"Alright, Heroes, we've got these fools to save, and let's make it quick!" I called out, letting my gaze head above me.

Looking out, I saw twin cavaliers across the islands, holding gem weapons in their hands. Seeing their green and red armour, I realised it was Sully and Stahl we were up against.

Knowing that those weapons provided extra, magical benefits to the weapon triangle, I realised I was boxed in somewhat. And with Robin's magical attacks keeping frontal assaults a risky business, I opted for one choice.

"Nowi, you're going to have to be our wall here. Are you up for it?"

My big sister glanced at Chrom, his Falchion in hand, glowing in the setting sunlight.

"I… I guess I have no choice!" she said, looking up at me, fists clenched, resolute.

"That's my girl…"

I set my plan into action, sending Camilla flapping across to intercept Sully and her sapphire lance on the left path. Transforming, Nowi stomped into position, right in front of the bridge to Chrom's plateau, with Elise by her side, and Lyn behind her.

And I waited for Robin to make a counter move.

Sully clopped towards Camilla, cautiously, as across the way, Chrom stepped up to Nowi, Falchion glowing with a heavenly light.

I kept my eye on all the combatants, but the slow speed of everyone distracted me away from Robin, who charged and fired a gronnwolf attack right at Nowi, before I could warn the girl.

With Nowi weakened, the wolf's bitemarks covering her side, Chrom rushed in, his sword held high.

"Nowi!" I called out to her, as Chrom jumped, flipped, and ran his blade across Nowi's chest, her cry shrill and piercing.

Chrom landed, pleased with himself. He looked across the divide to Robin, giving her the thumbs up.

Ignoring the wounded, but very alive, very angry, Nowi.

Rising up to her full height, Nowi looked down at Chrom before blasting down onto him with a lightning attack, sending the prince of Ylisse sliding into the bridge supports, shattering the wood underneath him, his clothing smoking.

"Chrom!" Robin cried out, reaching out to him from across the gap, her plan falling apart, it seemed.

I pushed my advantage. "Nowi, please, get Lyn into position!"

Growling in pain, Nowi lifted her tail up for Lyn to grasp. Widening her stance, she twisted to the right, tossing Lyn across the gap, right at Robin's feet, making her gasp in surprise. Nowi, meanwhile, continued her tail swipe, crushing Chrom with it's might, making him cough in pain.

Stahl and Sully, leaderless, rushed my team. Elise used her gravity attack to slow Stahl down as Nowi retreated for healing. A seething Sully collided into Camilla, and even though she was at a disadvantage, I have to give her props, knocking Camilla back a little bit.

But that's as far as she went, as Camilla snapped the sapphire lance into slivers with a swing of her axe, and Sully into pieces right after that, Camilla's brave axe whistling through her opponent.

Lyn, however, was dancing with Robin on the small stretch of land they shared. Robin, despite being a magical foe, was a tough gal, dodging and weaving away from Lyn's attacks. But not fast enough, as the nicks and slashes began pilling up, Robin's health faded, till Lyn, leaping back, ran full tilt at the combat tactician, ending her.

Stahl came up to tend to Chrom, but he wasn't getting up just yet.

So, instead, he charged for Elise, the lone healer, his ruby sword at the ready.

"Leave my lil sister alone!"

Nowi roared again, her lightning glowing blue this time, washing over Stahl's ruby sword, and up his body, turning the man to ash. Or, she would have, had he not vanished beforehand.

Leaving Chrom, struggling to his feet now, his Falchion in his hand, glowing feebly.

"No!" he cried, defiant, swinging wide at us as we approached him. Alfonse and the rest had arrived as well, looking at the furious Chrom. "You can't defeat us! Ylisse must stand, Lucina must live!"

I cautiously crossed the bridge, Alfonse at my side, our weapons stowed, hands up, showing our peaceful intentions. "We aren't here for Ylisse's destruction, Lord Chrom. We're here to save you!" I said.

"You can't be, you killed my Shepherds, transformed my citizens!" the blue-haired man roared, struggling to stay upright.

"No, that was- Al, watch out!"

A black hooded figure crawled out of the canyon, a knife in their grasp, quickly lunging at Chrom.

Alfonse reacted at my command, tackling Chrom to the ground as I crashed into the assassin, sending it tumbling wordlessly back where it came from.

Alfonse pulled himself up, offering a hand to Chrom. He looked on, wide eyed, and back to the canyon.

"Oh!" he took Al's hand, lifting up off the dirt. "It seems that my eyes have suddenly opened- and we have misjudged you! You have my gravest apologies, Prince Alfonse," he said, bowing.

"Knew we'd get there in the end…" I muttered, still on the ground.

"All this time, we were operating under a deception. We had it upside down! The Order of Heroes came here to save us all from the Emblian Empire!" He chuckled, slapping his forehead, before realising he was moving to much, wincing. He sat back down on the floor, exhausted.

"I only hope you can forgive us. You have my deep gratitude for rescuing our realm…" Chrom sighed, starting to fade away.

"You're quite welcome, Prince Chrom," Alfonse said, kneeling before the fading warrior.

I stepped up, to help Al to his feet as soon as Chrom vanished. We walked back to everyone, Alfonse clearly pleased.

"Our mission has succeeded! We have saved the World of Awakening. And it was all thanks to you, Tazio, and your team, of course," he said, nodding to each Hero in turn.

"I can see with every success, your confidence growing. You give orders without hesitation, your tactics are becoming more refined, and the trust you have in us all is inspiring. We in the Order are truly fortunate to have you with us,"

"Aww, thanks, Al!" I said, patting him on the back, grinning, soaking up all the praise.

"Come, let's head for home. We all deserve a break," Alfonse suggested, marching back up the to the hilltop.

As we walked, Sharena came up to me, pondering something. "You know…" she finally said, finger to her lips. "There's something about their tactician that reminds me of you, Tazio. It's like… you have the same aura or something… Does that sound strange to you?" She looked at me with that cute smile of hers.

"A little. Almost sounds like you were more impressed by that Robin," I said, a playful grin forming.

"Oh, don't worry, Tazio! I'm still your number-one fan!" She said, raising a hand, seemingly for a high-five. I slapped her one, pleased she'd gotten the gesture.

Anna came up to us, in her pose. "It shouldn't surprise us that two people might seem alike, given how many worlds there are. There could be hundreds of people like Tazio, remade and renamed across countless worlds!"

Her words gave me pause, remembering some vague theories of alternate worlds. Was that Robin an alternate form of me? Are all of the 'me's' tacticians as well?

"Heck, there could be thousands of Tazio's, for all we know!" Anna exclaimed, rising her hands to emphasise the number.

"Now you're getting carried away, Commander…" Sharena said, cocking her head to the side.

"What, you wouldn't like a thousand of me to hang out with?" I asked.

"Nope, I'm good with the one we have for now!" she said, putting her hands on both my shoulders, patting me, making me smile like a doofus.

We made it back to the canyon passage, when we received urgent news. Kagero appeared stealthily before us, handing a scroll to Anna, who grabbed it, frowning. The ninja disappeared with a smoke bomb. I really need to try her out at some point…

"Oh no… Everyone, I've just gotten an urgent report… Embla is heading into the gateway that leads to the World of Mystery again!"

"The World of Mystery?" Alfonse asked, coming next to the Commander. She nodded. "Veronica must be hoping to regain Marth. Grrr, won't she ever stop trying to get the Hero-King in her clutches? And if not him, who might she be trying to get this time?"

"I don't know, but standing around talking about it won't help anyone, let's move!" Sharena urged, running down the track. I groaned, but followed her nevertheless.

We made it through the wall easily enough, with no opposition, but as we made the final stretch for the field we entered from, I noticed my Heroes tiring. Lyn was gasping as she moved, despite the easy terrain; Nowi was wobbling on her feet; Elise could barely keep her eyes open, and Camilla was frowning instead of her usual soft smile.

I moved up next to Anna, at the head of the group. "Do we have to head straight to the World of Mystery? Our Heroes are exhausted; beyond a stamina potion's help,"

Anna looked over her shoulder as Nowi decided to just then drop to her knees, eyes blank. I rushed over and picked her up, putting her over my shoulder, looking at Anna, pitifully.

"We'd just fail faster if we don't rest," Anna agreed, nodding. "It's unfortunate we can't reach the Gate today, but Marth and his allies will just have to wait…"

"Thank you," I said as Sharena got onto Elise's pony, letting the black and pink clad girl resting on her back.

Passing through the gateway, we found ourselves back on the field, in the middle of the night. Crickets chirped away around us, and the moon was hidden by a blanket of clouds.

"Follow me, we'll set up camp in a location not far from here," Anna instructed, waving us forward. The guards on the cart silently followed us, and I was glad nothing had happened to them during our adventures. We arrived at a ring of large rocks overlooking the ocean. Moving into the rocks, we found an abandoned campsite, with a firepit and stones that looked good enough to sit on. Pulling out the sleeping gear from the cart, we set up the mats, as Alfonse got the fire roaring, with some added ignition via Nowi's lightning breath.

It didn't take long for us all to be chattering away, with the two guards joining us with their rations, quietly observing.

Feeling like they were left out, I tried to talk to them.

"I feel like calling you two just the 'guards' to be a bit rude. May I ask your names?" I attempted, looking at them over the crackling fire.

"I am known as Ned," the first knight on my left said.

"And I am Wilbur," the second said in turn.

The fire screamed as a vein of sap opened in one of the larger hunks of wood. The hissing continued, till I felt like enough time had passed for it to be awkward.

"So… how long have you been knights?" I said, trying to be friendly.

"Three years," they both said, at the same time.

More silence followed. I leaned over to Alfonse.

"These two are real people, right, not like, homunculi, or something?"

"No, they're real, they're just being respectful around the other Heroes, so as to not disturb them. There have been incidents in the past of Royal Knights getting into brawls with Heroes, and faring badly."

"Ooh… Any way we can make them less… formal?" I said, looking at the two men. They still hadn't taken their helmets off…

"Knights?" Alfonse said loudly. They stood at attention, looking his way. "At ease. You are with friends," he commanded.

Immediately, the two knights relaxed, their shoulders sagging, faces opening up. One ripped his helmet off, letting orange, curly hair pop out. The other removed his helmet more slowly, revealing a well shorn head of what I assume was green hair.

"Staying at attention for so long was getting boring…" the orange headed knight, Wilbur exclaimed, stretching animatedly, shaking his hair around.

"It wasn't thrilling..." Ned added, sitting down, putting his helmet in his lap.

"Ahh, you do speak!" I exclaimed, smiling at the two new allies.

"Course we do! We're not dummies," Wilbur said, jogging on the spot, his legs reaching high into the air.

"No, _I'm_ not," Ned added, looking into the fire.

"Oooh, are you going to run around?" Nowi said, perking up after a meal, hoping from stone to stone over to Wilbur as he did bending stretches.

"Not quite, I haven't hit my 10,000-step marker for the day, despite my jogs around the cart. Now would be a great time to finish them off!"

"10,000 steps?" I asked.

"It's a baseline, but I could do more if really wanted to. And you're welcome to join me, little one, but don't be disappointed if you get left in the dust!" Wilbur said, moving to the outside of the rock circle.

"Well, ok, maybe I'll talk to your friend then, I don't want to be super-tired for tomorrow…" Nowi said, shuffling over to the other knight.

Wilbur had set off, his arms swinging expertly. "Careful, he's a known womanizer! At last count, he's courted thirty-four women, with fifteen being maids, fourteen being other knights, alongside four passer-by women, and one little old lady he helped cross a street!"

Ned coughed into his fist. "The little old lady wasn't a conquest, merely someone I felt needed assistance from time to time, in her everyday life, as a knight is want to do," he explained coolly.

"So the three sets of bouquets and two cakes you brought her were to assist her?" Wilbur asked cheekily as he finished lap three of the ring.

"Must you count everything I do?!" Ned shouted. I say shouted, but he still sounded quite reserved. "I apologise for my outburst, m'ladies…" he said, bowing to the women around the campfire.

"None… taken, Sir Ned…" Anna said, suddenly nervous.

"You ok, Anna?" I asked, trying to be quiet.

"I didn't know it was Ned I'd gotten for guard duty…" she groaned.

"Oh yeah, you were conquest number eight for Ned, just after we'd finished our training!" Wilbur commented, whizzing past us, his pace so consistent.

"I do remember our time together fondly, to this day, Lady Anna," Ned added, giving a winning smile.

Anna groaned into her hands, rolling her eyes.

"In my world, we'd call him a player. Don't worry too much about him, Commander, I think we can keep him to himself, right Nowi?" I asked, giving her a wink.

"Oh, I gotcha!" she said grabbing for her Dragonstone. "Heheheeeeeeee!" she giggled maniacally.

"Ahh, your intentions are duly noted summoner…" Ned said, tapping his helmet rhythmically now.

Wilbur sprinted into the campfire area once more. "And don't worry, I'll keep him in check as well. On my watch, I've foiled sixty-seven of his conquests before they've started. It's what a cousin does!"

"Wait, I believed you were at sixty-six foiled attempts before-"

"Informing Nowi just now counts, because, let's be honest, you'd try to woo her as well," Wilbur said, hands on hips as he looked down at his companion.

"How many times have you vexed me today, Wilbur?" Ned sighed.

"Five vocal times, and upwards of twenty unmentioned other times!" the antagonizing knight added, smiling.

We all laughed, and I was glad we could meet our guards. I briefly wondered if keeping them for guard detail from now on might be prudent, hoping Wilbur could keep Ned at bay, as well as if Anna would allow it.

"Say, Tazio, you haven't told us a lot about your World," Sharena suddenly asked, looking over to me.

"Yes, I too am curious about the world you hail from," Lyn asked, leaning her head onto a hand.

"I know about his art form that was a mistake, known as anime!" Alfonse suggested quickly, turning his head side to side to see who listened to his slice of knowledge.

"Ahh, that's not really a big part of my world…" I rubbed the back of my neck, remembering my chat with Alfonse.

"Well, how about you tell us about what expensive things we could find in your world?" Anna suggested.

"Or how many flowers there are?" Elise suggested.

"Do you live simply, off the land, or in large towns or keeps?" Lyn asked.

"What is the royalty like from your World?" Camilla asked. "Do they often go to war?"

"How many dragons are there?" Nowi piped up.

"Are there Heroic figures in your World as well? Figures of legend?" Sharena asked.

"Please, recount all of the history of your World that you can!" Alfonse asked, mouth agape.

"Woah," I exclaimed, hands up. "I did not know you were all so interested in my World! Were you all holding onto those questions till now?" Everyone nodded at me.

"Well, ok, I'll try to answer as many questions as possible…"

I took a deep breathe, and looked at each Hero in turn.

"Car's are some of the more expensive items in our world. There are still plenty of flowers, last time I'd heard. Some live off the land, but I live in cities, with skyscrapers and pavement roads for the cars. We have a few royals left, but they don't do much. There are governments, like the Askr Council, except without a King, and a lot of other boring details I never bothered to learn. No dragons except in stories. There are ancient tales of lots of Heroes, but most people believe them to be fairy tales. A lot of people see sports stars and movie actors and singers as Heroes, I guess? And I wish I could show you a video on my World's history, Alfonse, but I can't access it from here."

I breathed out, satisfied.

"Any more questions?"

For the rest of the night, I was grilled by everyone, including the now curious and talkative Ned and Wilbur. They didn't believe a lot of what I explained, like the Internet, or airplanes, or spacetravel (Nowi and Sharena were excited by the concept, however), and some things, like cars and my style of cities were too much for them to understand.

Eventually, the fire settled down, and we made for our bed-mats. Ned and Wilbur were on watch duty all night, letting all of us rest peacefully. We were to head out straight away the next morning, at dawn.

I was just falling asleep, beside Alfonse, who was out like a light, when I heard some shuffling behind me. I turned over and saw someone slink out between some rocks.

Frowning, I snuck out as well, keeping my distance from the shadow. I briefly wondered if it was Kagero again, but I dismissed the ideas, as I could easily follow the figure.

It didn't go far, as it stopped at the top of a hill looking out onto the sea. The moon had appeared by now, shining upon silvery ripples of sea-water. The gentle break against the cliff-side was soothing.

I cautiously came up to the figure, and saw the neck-wing, and long, braided ponytail.

"Sharena?" I asked, quiet.

Sharena jumped at the sound of my voice, letting go of her legs, letting them fall from her chest. She quickly rubbed her face and turned to me.

"Tazio! You startled me," she said, smiling at me. I couldn't quite see her face; the moon wasn't that bright.

"What're you doing out here, by yourself?" I asked, coming over to stand beside her.

"Oh, just looking at the sea, is all. It's so pretty, don'tcha think?" she said, curling her legs up again.

"Yeah, but you could see the sea from the campsite…"

"Not like this, I couldn't," she patted the ground beside her. Shrugging, and looking back to see that the rocks were still within view, I sat down, sitting cross-legged.

We sat together, enjoying the washing waves for quite a while. I could understand why she liked this spot. I noticed that I could see the gate to Awakening from the hill as well.

"You've lost people you care about, haven't you, Tazio?" Sharena suddenly asked.

"Uhhh…" I was lost for words for a moment. "Yeah, I've lost a few here and there. Why… why do you ask?" I looked over to the princess, but she kept her gaze on the sea.

"How do you handle your feelings about the loss?" she asked instead.

"Sharena, I…?" I started to say, till I saw the tears well in her eyes. She wiped them away, clearly self-conscious.

I bit my lip, and decided to help the poor girl out.

"In my case, the losses I've had? I used them, to help remind me they're who I am today. They're examples of what not to do, and also show me how the world works. Is… that helpful?" I asked.

"Ahhh, yeah, yeah, I guess it does?" Sharena breathed after a moment. She then shook herself, and turned back to me, grinning like the Sharena I always knew. "Guess I'll have to be an even better friend to everyone!" she said, raising a hand for a high-five.

I gave her the responding hand, smiling as I did, but I still felt uneasy. We walked back to the camp shortly after, Sharena back to her exuberant self.

I feel like I've written enough for tonight. I'll explain how things ended in the World of Mystery, unless I'm called away to fight all day tomorrow, in which case, who knows when I'll be back here?

Soon, I hope. I feel like something's about to happen, and when I write this all down, it helps me clarify things; preparing myself for the future, I guess.

I hope I don't miss anything…


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Going Back

So, I'm back, after some more adventures to other Worlds. Hopefully we have a break that's longer than a single day next time…

We woke up at dawn, as planned, and headed out after a meager meal, just enough to get us moving. Ned and Wilbur were back to their stoic selves, helmets back on. It didn't take long to reach the fishing village and the ship over to the gateway. There were no signs of Emblia at the gateway, but I hadn't seen them at other gateways either, so who knows…

Passing through, I felt Breidablik shake at my belt. Looking down, it glowed brightly. As we stepped out the other side of the gate, we were in a completely different part of the World of Mystery, compared to the other times we'd stepped through. I guess the ancient tool could interact with the gateways, and that made sense, to me.

"Wait, where are we?" Anna asked, twisting on the spot to see the new surroundings. "This isn't where the gateway normally takes us?"

Before we had time to contemplate further, a voice called out from the mountainous hills before us.

"You're here, as expected. Nothing against you, but I've been hired to do a job."

Standing on a ridge, looking down at the gate, was a man in luscious red robes, and flowing black hair, a nasty looking blade at his side.

At the time, I thought he could have been a model for some shampoo company, with such pristine hair…

"So now, you'll die," he said, grabbing the hilt of his blade, drawing it out smoothly, directing it down to us.

He jumped backwards, behind the ridge, as two assassins appeared on the paths down the mountain.

"Into your places, everyone!" I called out, getting into mine. Looking down at the battlefield, I could see the mountain range and surrounding, thick forest funnelling the killers straight down to us. I sent Camilla up high, over the mountain range to attack one of the thieves on the right path.

I saw that the red man, Navarre as Alfonse called him, was cautiously making his way around the path, letting the Emblian fodder move ahead first. Similarly, looking to the left side of the mountain, was Wrys, of all people, ready to heal the thieves.

I quietly hoped that Sharena wouldn't see this.

"Nowi, move to the left, and take out the two combatants there!" I commanded, watching as she stomped over to intercept both. I sent Lyn to the right to deal with the thief in case Camilla couldn't, and Elise to the left to back Nowi up.

The first thief threw a dagger at Nowi's resilient dragon hide, hissing when it bounced backwards. Nowi let loose a stream of lightning at the small figure, sending it scrambling away. Camilla, meanwhile, had charged down into the other thief, ripping him to shreds in an instant. Lyn stepped forward to stand where the assassin had just been, Camilla flapping above her. The assailant Nowi was tangling with was flipping and dodging backwards, till he was behind a rocky outcropping, allowing Wrys to heal him.

"I'll back Nowi up!" Sharena cried out, running ahead, lance raised.

"Wait, no don't-! Ghhaaa..." Too late. She charged around Nowi, lance at the ready, and jumped at the healing cloaked Emblian. Piercing their chest, she kept pushing her lance through, till it came out the other side of the thief, ramming into Wrys instead.

"Wait, Wrys? Oh no!" Sharena cried out as she saw Wrys on the end of her lance, the thief fading away. She yanked her lance away, and rushed up to see that the frail, elderly man was alright.

"Begone, foul invader!" Wrys cried, smacking Sharena over the head with his healing staff, his eyes going dark. She wasn't having the best luck with staff users, was she?

Sharena retreated, grabbing at her head, before she lunged at Wrys again, her teeth clenched. This wasn't the same Wrys from back at the castle, she'd finally realised. This Wrys was going to be skewered.

That confrontation done, Navarre was all that was left. He was sauntering down the path, his sword by his side, skimming over the ground by his boots. He glanced side to side at the assembled warriors at the end of the path, face unchanged, still scowling.

"I wish we had Caeda here…" Alfonse whispered as I stood beside him, ready to pounce upon the mercenary.

"Why's that?" I whispered back, eyes trained on Navarre, and his blade hand.

"She won Navarre over to Marth's army, originally," Al explained.

"Guess she has the silver tongue then…"

Navarre stood before all of us, as straight as a post, as slender as a tree. The hem of his robes billowed as the wind rushed down from the mountaintop. He looked over to me, unblinking.

"I will not fight the women," he called out.

"Why not?" I called back.

"It would break my code of honour. Let me fight the prince," he said, pointing to Alfonse.

"You up for-?" I started, only to watch him stroll forward, pulling his blade ready.

"If I win, you will leave us to travel around Archanaea?" Alfonse asked, sword held in a single grip.

"Yes. And if I win, you will die, and the women will flee. Your summoner will fall to my blade next, and anyone who stands in my way; female or not." Navarre held his sword in a two-handed grip, his eyes looking down the curved edge to Alfonse, legs spread.

Navarre dashed forward, so fast I didn't see his feet move till he was on top of Alfonse. He threw his blade forward, towards Al's gut, but the Askr prince blocked in the nick of time, hitting the blade away. Navarre twisted, his momentum carrying him forward, till he stood just behind Alfonse, his blade back, slicing across his side.

Alfonse took this one, and he clearly felt it. He gasped in pain, and immediately grabbed at his side. He turned to look at Navarre, behind him, eyes wide in fear. He had misunderstood Navarre's strength and speed.

Navarre lunged again, aiming for Al's neck. Alfonse dove out of the way at my call, tumbling awkwardly in the dirt. Navarre didn't slow, however, moving smoothly into a swipe across the ground, hacking away at Alfonse's legs. Al kicked himself backwards, scrambling his arm underneath him as he swatted at Navarre with his own sword. He ran head-first into a tree, and dazed, could only look up as Navarre moved in for the kill.

Only for Lyn's Sol Katti to appear above Alfonse, blocking the death blow.

"I would not fight you…" Navarre growled, his lip curling with his disgust.

"What, because I'm a woman? Well, I'm a warrior before I'm a woman, that good enough for you?" Lyn asked, a little angrily, knocking away the other weapon.

"So be it!" He said, flying at Lyn now.

The two clashed, their blades flashing gold and silver, their feet scampering across the small arena we formed. They were almost equally matched; except Lyn was just a bit more powerful, and you could tell by the way she smacked away Navarre's weapon of choice like it was a blade of grass. Every time he attacked, Lyn smacked him away only to follow up herself, nicking his arm or side. Navarre tried to attack even faster, getting desperate, but Lyn; she vanished, only to appear behind him, her blade at his neck.

Navarre, despite himself, grinned, looking over his shoulder to the steely-eyed Lyn.

"I admit defeat," he said, dropping his blade into the dirt. "I am not too ashamed to know when I have lost. Nor am I foolish enough to continue a fight to my death, if I can avoid it."

He turned and looked at me head-on, smile gone, looking passive, eyes dead.

"You're strong, all right. It's a close call-which of you is stronger? You… or him? Heh." He cracked a small smile. "This is going to get interesting." He turned and began walking away, up the mountain. I signalled to the others to let him go. Camilla hissed her annoyance.

"I'm sure I'll see you around…" Navarre admitted, hardly turning around, as he wandered off into the distance, swallowed up by the twirling dirt further up in the mountain range.

"What was that all about?" I breathed, frowning.

"He's a mercenary, and I suppose he was hired as one, instead of put under contract?" Anna suggested, helping the healed Alfonse to his feet. I ran over to put an arm under the weak prince, with Sharena on the other side.

"Good thing we had the one thing that was going to beat him," Alfonse said with a weak smile, looking to me. "Your harem."

"Dude!" I cried out, almost dropping him. "They're my team, not a harem!"

"Hehe…" he softly laughed, before letting his head fall to his chest. My flash of anger was gone.

"Thanks for stepping up to the plate, mate. You tried your best,"

"Maybe, but I just wasn't fast enough against him…" Alfonse murmured his head on his chest.

"Well, you'll just know what to expect next time, right, brother?" Sharena chipped in, looking down at her beaten brother.

"Maybe, or it could just be I simply won't be able to win every fight I go up against, right Tazio?"

I sighed. "You're right, and that's not a bad thing. We should focus on our strengths, not weaknesses. If we do that, we'll become a blade in battle, instead of a club. A friend of mine once said that a jack-of-all-trades is a master of none,"

"I like that saying," Alfonse said, slowly righting himself as his gear healed him, nodding.

"Feel free to use it anytime," I said. We began walking up past the mountain range, striking into the heart of the continent. Once Alfonse was well enough to walk by himself, I left him in Sharena's care, and fell back to thank Lyn for the intervention.

"It was little trouble, Tazio. That Navarre; he may seem like he's a cold and calculating killer, but… I have a feeling he has a noble heart buried under that façade. Why else would he vow to not harm the women, even if we were clearly armed?" she said, thinking as she spoke.

"That, or he's sexist. Either way, we won, and don't have to deal with him for a while now," I said, shrugging as we walked.

Lyn smiled coyly. "Maybe we can win him over next time? I could try and be like Princess Caeda, and use my silver tongue!"

"Don't say things like that…" I said, shaking my head, banishing the improper thoughts I won't repeat here.

"Oh, you of little faith! I'll have you know I won over many allies when I strove to save my grandfather! We were the Lyndis Legion!" Lyn said proudly, fist raised before her.

"The Lyndis Legion? Did Odin name it for you?" I said, giggling.

"No, a dear friend of mine," she said, closing her eyes in remembrance. "I do hope Kent and Sain arrive someday…"

"Were they fighters in your Legion?" I asked, curious.

"Yes, they were knights of Caelin, the country my grandfather ruled. As different as the two of them were, they were both incredibly close, brothers-in-arms, really. Hmmm…"

She stopped, a finger to her lips. "What is it?" I asked, concerned.

"Those guards, Wilbur and Ned… they kind of remind me of Kent and Sain?" she admitted.

"Really? I'm more reminded of Sully and Stahl…" I admitted, thinking of the fiery redhead and gentle foodie from Chrom's Shepherds.

"Doesn't Marth also have a pair of cavaliers? Cain and Abel? The two we fought here last time?" Lyn observed.

I also realised something. "Say, were Kent and Sain also in green and red armour?" I asked.

"Why, yes, they were. Kent bore red, while Sain was always in green…"

"Well, when we get back, I'm getting Ned and Wilbur a colour change!" I said, snapping my fingers.

"Oh, why's that?" Lyn asked, confused.

"We're getting our very own Christmas knights!" I said, laughing as I ran up to tell a soon to be antagonized Anna.

Making our way ahead, we finally settled down to try and figure out where the Emblian Army could have gone to contract a powerful Hero. Alfonse admitted the list of possible Heroes was short. Seeing as we'd already fought Marth, I reasoned the Empire would probably try and recruit other members to their army, and we could go for Marth later if I was wrong. I asked Alfonse on his opinion on who they'd target.

"Most important Heroes are usually Lords, or affect the story of the Lord significantly," Alfonse explained, thinking as he sat on a tree stump. "And thinking back to the Heroes we've recorded… Could they have gone for Tiki?" He mused.

"Tiki's that important here?" I asked, thinking of the polite manakete back at the castle, always on the verge of a nap.

"Incredibly," Alfonse said, nodding. "So, I would suggest heading out to her resting place. However, I think we may have to pass through the Kingdom of Macedon, home of Minerva…"

"Ahhh…" I thought back to our first tangle with her, wincing as I recalled Raigh's savage impalement.

"We may be in luck, however, as she might be trying to save her little sister, Minerva, in a castle not far from here," Alfonse explained, gesturing to a point on his map.

"Well, if we take her out with a surprise attack now, we don't have to worry later on, right?" I said, smiling at the simple plan.

"That is the hope," Alfonse said, putting his map away.

"Well then, troops, on to Minerva!" Anna called out, leading us forward.

It didn't take long before we found the fortress Alfonse believed Minerva to be in. And from the smoke rising overhead, I assumed we were on the right track. Racing ahead, we reached the massive walls leading into the dark compound, only to find Minerva hovering above them all. She looked down at us.

"Begone, outsiders! I am Minerva, Princess of Macedon. I will only warn you once – return to your world. Now."

I stopped, and thought things sounded familiar…

"Princess Minerva, I beseech you, find it within the powerful heart of yours to grant us passage through your land, so that we may free you from enslavement to the Emblian Empire!" I called out, trying a different approach to last time.

Minerva glared down at me. "No."

I sighed. "It was worth a try…"

"I am now bound to serve the Emblian Empire, and the Imperial Princess, Veronica, has given me an order. She has commanded that I attack a kingdom near her Empire. As such, I have no time for the likes of you," she repeated, exactly the same as last time. Shame I can't copy and paste with a quill…

"Yeah yeah, alright, everyone," I said, turning to look at everyone, trying to plan our assault.

"Do not turn your back on me, insolent fool!" The bellow came from above, getting closer incredibly quickly.

"Move!" I cried, without turning. I was thrown to the floor by a bundle of blonde hair at my side, just before a massive axe head swung across where my neck had just been. We struggled in the dust as Minerva flapped her wyvern above us, axe at the ready.

"Elise? Thanks, but get onto your horse!" I cried when I realised who had pushed me aside. She chattered fearfully, and crawled away, keeping away from Minerva as much as possible.

But she didn't have to worry too much. Camilla had climbed to the sky herself, axe ready to slay the one who had attacked her little sister. There were no smiles, no flirtatious small-talk; only anger.

Camilla lunged at Minerva, who flew backward, away from the wild swings of the Nohrian Princess. Back against the wall, she signalled at her wyvern, it's claws planted on the stone. She waited, and then whistled, her steed launching itself at Camilla, cannonballing into her.

The black-scaled Corrin was knocked away, but Camilla was able to right it, facing the green-scaled wyvern of Minerva, her hair wild.

I tore my eyes away from the sky-battle, and urged the rest of my allies into the walled maze-like compound, where we were less exposed. On the move, I couldn't use my vision to scout ahead, and so we just barreled head-first into the enemy.

Rounding a corner, Lyn struck at a sword wielding armoured knight, but her blows did next to nothing. It shrugged, swinging it's shield like a wall, as Lyn leaped backwards.

"Elise!" I cried out, having her blast the slow unit with her magic, ripping through it's low magical resistance, destroying the meaty body inside. The armoured unit drifted away, vanishing.

We pushed ahead, and this time Lyn cut down an Emblian archer as we rounded another corner, only to be hit with a magical attack, sending her flying into a wall. Looking up the corridor, I could see the white-clad Maria, her staff trained on Lyn, gritting her teeth.

"Anna?" I asked, sending her up to strike down the contracted young girl, making her vanish as well.

"Sorry," she huffed, as Lyn fell away from the wall, the magic dissipating.

There was a cry of pain from behind us, and I looked up just in time to see Camilla crash sideway into one of the walls, bending painfully, her wyvern right behind her. She gasped soundlessly in pain, only to tumble to the ground, her beast slamming into her face. Luckily, she faded before hitting the ground.

"Big sister!" Elise called out, beginning to run for her fallen sibling. I held her back, glaring at Minerva above us.

She glared down, standing tall on her beasts back, equally furious. I'm pretty sure she saw us strike down her beloved sister.

She jumped down onto her wyvern, and shot off into the horizon, before I could call for Elise to stop her with gravity.

"Damn!" I cursed, punching at a wall. Now we had an angry Minerva to deal with, and still no archer to deal with fliers…

"Tazio, what's wrong?" Anna asked, coming over to me, a little angry herself.

"Nothing, let's just move. I bet Minerva's heading to Tiki as we speak…" I grumbled, heading back out of the castle grounds, away from the Emblian soldiers coming out of the wrecked fortress.

We'd come to deal with Minerva, and all we did was flail around and make her angrier, a nuisance to harm us later. Looks like my tactical expertise was hyped up beyond my actual capabilities.

Alfonse hurried us to the caves Tiki slept in, taking us alongside twin rivers. I sulked, like a spoilt kid after not winning a game all the way, only for us to be ambushed at the head of the river.

A sniper named Jeorge and a burly man by the name of Barst had prepared an attack on our narrow stretch of land. Jeorge rained down bright shooting-star like arrows upon us while Barst pushed up onto the island, a brave axe in his hand.

I tried to react, but the fear of loosing more of my allies kept me unsteady, unsure of myself. I harried everyone behind some trees to avoid the pelting magical arrows (from a legendary bow known as Parthia, according to Alfonse), only for bark and wood splints to fly down onto us as the trees were rocked. Lyn and Alfonse readied themselves for Barst's attack, with the rest of my team being at more than a slight disadvantage to the axe swinging Hero.

Lyn dodged the first of Barst's attacks, but was glanced across the shoulder by his quick follow up attack. Alfonse used the attack to strike as well, removing Barst from play. However, I was so focused on the charging Hero, I didn't notice the Emblian archer behind him.

He notched an arrow, but Anna was ready, tackling him, smashing her axe sideways into their side, followed by a second, momentum carried swing up into the Emblian puppet. Anna gave me a thumbs up as I breathed a sigh of relief, and shook myself awake, looking at the battlefield properly this time.

I saw Jeorge across the river, concealing himself behind his own tree, holding his bow up to the heavens, drawing the string back. The arrow that flew up glowed like a golden rod, only to come down right next to my foot, searing the earth as it plunged into the hard stone and dirt.

Realising we would have to draw him out, I got Nowi to head for the bridge heading for him. There was an armoured soldier in the way, but an attack by Elise kept the heavy foe from moving. Nowi scampered across the bridge in her human form, holding her stone high as she crossed.

Jeorge, seeing her only as an assailant, took aim and fired, only to clench his bow tightly in fear as the arrow fizzled upon Nowi's dragon form. Nowi replied in turn, her lightning breath streaking along the ground before snapping over onto the sniper, incinerating him.

Leaving the armoured foe. Incredibly slow now, Lyn, Sharena and Alfonse all ran at the foes sides, their weapons dinging and snacking across the broad, dark armour, till Anna stepped forward, as playful as ever. Holding her axe up like a baseball bat, she waited for the soldier to lurch her way, before she twirled around the lance, and swung into its helmet, knocking it away, and defeating the opponent long before I could see what was under the headpiece.

We all regrouped near a deforming Nowi, breathing in relief. And, I felt I had to apologise.

"Guys, I'm really sorry, I let this attack happen…" I looked at the seared earth where Nowi had attacked. "If I hadn't been so caught up in our loss at the fortress, then we could have…"

"What are you talking about, Summoner?" Anna asked, leaning with both hands over her axe. "It was a trap; no one could have seen it coming, even with your visions of the surrounding area, it would have been hard to prepare anyway."

"And who said we lost at the fortress?" Sharena pitched in. "Sure, Minerva got away, but we can deal with her like we did last time," she said, shrugging at the simplicity.

"But… Camilla…" I breathed, worried that without a flier we'd be sunk.

"Back at the castle, haven't you remembered anything yet?" Alfonse asked, smiling.

"No, we lost her because I ignored her in that battle, and now we're down some forces, and…" I tried to explain, but Alfonse held a hand up to me.

"As a tactician, you must know about making sacrifices in battle as much defeating opponents. Sometimes, it's the wisest course of action; one loss instead of defeat itself."

I sighed. "I guess… But it doesn't make me any less annoyed at my failure…"

"It just show's you're human, is all," Sharena said with a shrug. "I like that about you, honestly," she added, walking off.

"Wait, you what?" I tried to restart the conversation, but we were back on the trail.

We walked, and walked, surrounded by more mountains and forests, till we were forced along a narrow passage. All the while, I tried to grapple with the idea of loosing an ally to carry out the mission, and in a way, it made sense. We didn't have the luxury of bringing extensive forces; we were restricted, and who knows how long a battle could last, or how many enemies we'd encounter in these Worlds. With these considerations, I had to think much, much further ahead in the future, if I was going to help the Order more. To know what sacrifices could be made.

My musings were put on hold by the spotting of more enemies, guarding a narrow passage into the caves Tiki was sleeping in.

"It's the Whitewing sisters," Alfonse said, pointing. I remembered them from our first fight with Minerva, except there was a pink haired girl this time, wielding a bulbous joust-like lance. It looked like it could drill through a ship's hull…

"Minerva must have set them up to guard the way forward. They're incredibly loyal towards her, so we have a hell of a fight on our hands…" Alfonse muttered, sizing the girls up.

"That, and we have another armoured soldier to deal with…" I said, returning from a scouting vision.

"Well, we have to get through. Ideas?" Alfonse asked.

Luckily, I had one…

And it was… unconventional, to say the least.

After ten minutes of setting up, Lyn walked out, leading a roped up Nowi. She calmly walked up the path, looking as calm as a cucumber, while Nowi tried to look scared, her face scrunching up.

Stopping before the hovering sisters, Lyn looked up, tugging Nowi to her side.

"You are guarding a manakete, are you not?" she called out.

The sword holding sister, Palla, swooped down, clearly suspicious. Her pale steed was calm as Lyn walked past it's well groomed head, however.

"Who told you this?" Palla asked, holding her sword in plain sight.

"I have heard of it, is all, and thought this manakete would be useful for the Emblian Empire," Lyn said cooly, shrugging, crossing her arms as she did.

"The girl is a manakete?" Palla asked, eyes widening as she noticed Nowi properly, focusing on the elongated ears.

"I would show you, if I hadn't relieved her of this…" Lyn said, drawing out a large, sky-blue stone from a pouch.

"A dragonstone!" the pink-haired girl cried out, swooping down to gawk.

"Est!" Palla snapped. "We don't know if this person is from the enemy ranks yet!"

Est's smile was wiped away. "I was curious, is all…"

"You can see the stone pretty easily," Catria, the middle sister, said, lazing on the mane of her Pegasus, lance laying over her legs.

"I can assure you, I am not with your enemy. Here, you can take the dragonstone if you want proof." She said, flicking the stone up to Est, whom beamed at her new knick-knack. "I am simply a wandering mercenary, and figured I could make some money off of this Empire doing odd jobs. I saw another man in red doing something similar," Lyn recited, like she was a born actor.

All three girls perked up, looking to each other. "Navarre…?" Catria asked no one in particular.

"Yes, that was the man. Now, would you like this manakete or not?" Lyn asked, getting impatient, tapping her foot like I instructed.

"Uhhh," Palla was acting exactly as I'd planned. I could see that while she led her sisters, she still had higher-up to head to for orders, and wouldn't make too many crucial decisions on her own. Hopefully, she'd do what I thought she would.

"I think we'll just head out to speak with Princess Minerva… If you'll just follow me, we'll have you sorted in no time at all," Palla said, regaining her composure, leading Lyn and Nowi on.

As the three of them began to head out of the canyon, we struck.

The Askr trio charged as Elise backed them up, roaring at the top of their lungs.

The startled sisters turned to look away from Nowi and Lyn as Anna and Sharena launched themselves at the lance-holding sisters, jabbing and slashing at the pegasi legs.

With their attention stolen, Nowi and Lyn leaped into action. Nowi transformed, using her real, hidden dragonstone, her ropes snapping in an instant. She grabbed at Palla, the red-coated sword she held grasped in her tallons, her fangs parting across the defiant Whitewing.

Lyn, meanwhile, ran at the axe-holding fighter. Goading it, it swung wildly, only for Lyn to dart backwards, keeping the foe facing her. The axe user attacked again, this time with a powerful overhead smash. Lyn, expecting this, slashed up, her almost magical Sol Katti slicing the head of the axe off mid-air, sending it spiralling sideways into the nearby undergrowth.

The armoured foe looked down at their new stick, and I'm going to assume they looked confused. Their confusion must have grown as Lyn swiped at the stick into smaller and smaller chunks, till a stub remained in their clenched fists. Lyn finished off with a precise jab through the slot in the soldier's helmet, vanishing it.

Anna, meanwhile, was dancing with Est, who cautiously parried axe swings with her oversized spear. "Oh yeah, aren't you a shopkeeper now?" Anna asked idly as she leaped and crashed the spear out of Est's hands, sending it down to gouge the earth. "When you get summoned, we have to go over some marketing strategies!" she said as she hurled her axe up into the Pegasus' underside, finishing their battle.

Sharena clashed lance tips with an irate Catria. "Why do you have to show up now?" Catria mumbled angrily.

"We're the Order of Heroes, it's what we do!" Sharena said pleasantly, smirking, before knocking Catria's spear sideways, twirling the long staff-weapon overhead in both hands till the end was in a single hand. Keeping a tight grip, she continued to twirl the weapon, her body rolling in time with it, till she launched a blow on Catria's tool. It sailed away, and Sharena kept spinning, bringing her lance back under her arm, rolling it around her centre, a firm grip in the middle of the pole. Lunging with extra momentum, the lance ran poor Catria through, ending her.

I looked back to Nowi, and wasn't too surprised to see pegasus feathers still falling from her dragon lips. I honestly would have laughed if she finished by licking her lips, however…

We quickly healed any wounds, of which there weren't many, and pressed on.

Only to find two very angry dragon ladies.

Walking through a narrow, vine choked forest passage, I could see on a mountaintop ahead of us with a series of weathered and broken building ruins on the top. And crawling onto the roof of one of those buildings, was Tiki. She looked down at us, her eyes darkening, a tiny smile on her little face.

"Ah! Are you the bad people that Veronica warned us about?" she called down, her polite tones flowing down the side of the mountain to us clearly.

"Little one, they are our foes," Minerva said, flapping beside the ruins, eyes blazing. "They took my sister away from me!" She pointed her Hauteclere axe down at us, accusatory.

"What?" Tiki sounded hurt and confused. "Why can't you just go away?" she asked sadly.

"Your sister hasn't perished, Princess!" Alfonse tried to call out, but they either didn't hear us, or didn't care.

"I-if you get any closer… I won't be able to hold back, and then…" her voice began to break and tear, her small body scrunching up in what looked like pain.

Suddenly, Tiki transformed into her dragon form, her neck extending into a leathery, sea-green dragon, with thick, powerful limbs, strong, long wings and a beaked jaw with firm spines coming from the back of her head. Red eyes gleamed down at us.

"I can't help it if I do awful things to you!" she cried out as her dragon form looked to the sun, letting a stream of fire erupt from her lips, spraying into the air, the flames spreading out into a cloud.

"That's problematic…" Alfonse groaned.

"What did you expect when we went looking for a manakete!" I exclaimed, stomping my foot, gesturing at Tiki, who'd collapsed the ruin's roof, disappearing from view.

Groaning myself, I looked out at the battlefield, and saw that Tiki wasn't defended by Emblian soldiers scattered at the bottom of the mountain, but by the terrain. We had a swath of large trees, rocky-outcroppings and hills to wind our way around to reach Tiki and end the madness here. And everyone was going to be funneled out one at a time by the pathway.

Realising we were on a defensive march, I got Anna to head ahead, followed by Alfonse and Lyn, Elise, then Sharena and Nowi. I stayed where I was, praying I wouldn't be snuck up on while sitting in the open.

Anna burst out of the tunnel of trees, and attacked the lance-fighter immediately, her axe smashing through the soldier's plain weapon, into her chest.

A thief immediately began throwing daggers at Anna, several of them hitting her shoulder as she yanked her axe's head out of the disappearing fighter. Lyn ran out next, deftly weaving around or under each dagger, or striking them out of the way, till she was before the now retreating rogue. She sliced across the hooded enemies back, sending them sprawling into nothingness.

Looking at the mountaintop, I saw Tiki was smashing her way down the mountainside now, breathing fire in chaotic streams, turning a side of the pale mountain into a waterfall of bubbling lava, or a clump of trees into a crackling inferno, all the green foliage going up in a puff of smoke in an instant. Her tail flicked and swayed as her massive limbs stomped down the hillside, straight at us, Tiki's child-like voice crying out as the beast came to assault us.

I tried to get Nowi ready, letting her transform as she raced to meet Tiki, but Lyn was already too close. As Tiki descended upon her, her reptilian chest glowed, and flames flew out, crossing the ground Lyn stood upon, creating a wall of flame, with her in the middle of it.

Buffeted and howling, Lyn wobbled unsteadily, barely holding on, when the flames fizzled away. She still looked up at Tiki with a defiant, soot streaked face when she mercilessly bellowed a tongue of flame onto her, sending Lyn back to the Askr castle.

Nowi had transformed by now, her lighter frame colliding into the muscular manakete, her long snout snapping at the wide wings, her long forearms scrabbling across Tiki's chest, leaving a multitude of scratches.

Minerva came down from the mountains, grimly aiming her axe at Tiki's neck.

Alfonse and Sharena wouldn't have it, however. Using Sharena's shield, Alfonse was launched into the sky, alongside a cliffside. Kicking off the rockface, he flew far higher than I ever could, his royal-blood helping him surpass regular human limits, his healing garments helping him push his body even further.

Just as Minerva streaked by, Alfonse managed to grab hold of her wyvern's tail, jerking it down to collide with the hillside. Alfonse let go of the tail, sliding on his back along the grass floor, trying to avoid the now bouncing wyvern and its rider. Trying to urge the beast up, Minerva was jostled and bucked up, as the wyvern screeched and kicked off the slopped ground, it's claws bending backwards into the racing ground, it's wings struggling to slow it.

Alfonse slide to the right and onto a rock buried into the hillside, stepped out, and used it as a launch ramp, ejected over Minerva, falling, arms outstretched, onto her, just as the hill smoothed out. They tumbling sideways, close to the clashing dragons, whose tails and wings flew violently over the two of them. Thrown off of Minerva, Alfonse was almost crushed by Tiki's tail, rolling out of the way just in time after I called out to him.

Minerva, meanwhile, tried to straighten herself, standing up in her stirrups, quickly checking her steed. Hearing something behind her, she swivelled, and was glanced across the cheek by a sailing Sharena, lance lunging across the wyvern's back. Her head snapped back, and she calmly reached up to touch the cut across her face, scowling.

Sharena slid across the grass, lance tip slowing her so she wasn't stomped on by Nowi, whom was being tossed and turned by the bulkier Tiki, her claws digging into Nowi's back, her dragon shriek ringing in my ears.

Pulling Alfonse to his feet, the two of them charged at Minerva once more as her wyvern began to flap up into the air, gauging who to attack first; the royals, or the dragon.

Seeing Tiki sent flying by a lighting attack to the chest, crushing a small ruin wall as she slammed down, Minerva chose the latter. Laying down across the beasts back, Minerva shot forward, axe fat beside the wyvern's face. She came up behind Nowi, whom was stomping over to the struggling, brick and dust covered Tiki. Tiki let out another wall of flame to slow Nowi, eyes widening as she spotted Minerva.

This was when Elise galloped out of the forests, her pony leaping over the wall of flame, her staff glowing as she aimed at Minerva. "This is for my sister!" she cried out, letting the gravity magic slam down into the Red Dragoon.

The wyvern shot straight down, the three feet gap between it and the floor disappearing in an instant. Minerva was thrust down into her wyvern's neck, her hands jerked into the dirt, Hauteclere slicing down deep. The two of them barely slid forward when they hit the ground, seemingly pinned there.

Alfonse and Sharena jumped on the chance, and dealt with Minerva for a second time, making her fade away.

Nowi, meanwhile, was flying at Tiki, her slender dragon body coiling around the cones of flame that sizzled past her, her lightning attacks hitting the downed manakete time after time, till the flames stopped coming. There was a flash of light, and I could see normal Tiki collapse into the wreck of stones, timber and charred earth. Pulling out of my view, I ran as fast as I could to meet up with the others around Tiki.

Once there, we all looked down at Tiki, who still hadn't faded. She opened a single eye when I arrived, and smiled.

"You beat me?" She said, softly. "Thanks to you, I'm back to my normal self!" she coughed briefly, not able to get up off the bed of bricks under her. Nowi crawled up to Tiki, hugging her knees. She looked down at Tiki, who struggled to raise a hand to her previous manakete foe. "Even better – I don't have to fight anymore!" she said, starting to fade.

Nowi desperately tried to grab at the evaporating hand, only to have her little digits wave through them. Nowi tried and tried again, as Tiki became more transparent. She began to sob and sob, her tears falling over where Tiki's body had just been.

Sighing, I swooped in and bundled Nowi under my arms, where she clutched at my robes, and cried softly, her chin buried into her chest, looking at her feet. I patted her head as we began walking away, knowing that little Tiki would be alright, returning to her home, without a contract to manipulate her now.

"Well done, everyone!" Anna said cheerfully as we began the long walk back to the gateway. "That's one more successful mission! Seems like the Emblian Empire wasn't after Marth at all this time." She said, shrugging.

"I thought we established that when Tiki became a fire-breathing dragon…" I muttered as Nowi began to drift off into sleep.

"Ahhh… If only we could close the gateway to the World of Mystery, then the Emblian's couldn't keep going in," Alfonse mused as he rode Elise's pony.

"You're probably wondering why we don't just guard the gateways, Tazio." Sharena said, coming up next to me, Elise sleeping on her back, her pigtails bobbing with each step.

"I have meant to ask for a proper explanation, yes."

"The thing is, we do. Or, at least, try to, but there are just too many gateways and way too many Emblian soldiers…" she sighed, looking down. Alfonse across from her grimaced. I briefly wondered how many guards they'd lost in the years.

"I wish we royals of Askr had the ability to close the way to those worlds…" Sharena said, clearly imagining a more peaceful land.

"The royal powers to open and close the gateways are meant to work in tandem. I wonder, if Askr could close the gates, would the power to open them simply shift to Embla?" Alfonse asked himself.

"What makes you think that?" I asked up at him as we began walking down the mountains we'd fought Navarre in.

"Legends suggest it might be so," he explained shrugging. "And, if it is, then we'd be just as stuck in this predicament!"

"That'd be even worse…" Sharena shook her head as she imagined it. "Then we'd have to check all the gates, not just the ones we once opened!"

"Wait, how many have you opened?" I asked at the same time Anna began to speak, drowning me out.

"Veronica's war will continue until one realm has both the powers, or we learn to cooperate again. But, for now, we're stuck, and chances are that all of this was just another distraction… Who know what gateway Embla has gone through while we've been here? We need to find out…" Anna said, tapping her fingers across her axe's shaft, one at a time, growing in intensity as she explained the situation.

"I'm sure Gaius or Kagero will show up if that were the case," I said as we walked through the gateway once more, reappearing at the island, and a bored looking Wilbur and Ned skimming stones into the sea.

"The Empire could have snuck off to a gateway further away from us, though," Anna said as she loaded everything into the awaiting boat.

"Well, we'll deal with that when we find out about it, right?" I said, shrugging. "Like we always do,"

I put Nowi down into some hay beside Elise as soon as we returned to the cart in the harbour town, and headed straight for the capital. Sharena and Alfonse tried to stay awake beside me, till Sharena drifted off, falling onto my shoulder, then Alfonse, after a few nods onto his chest, fell onto my lap, breathing softly.

I would have fallen asleep as well, if I wasn't excitedly imagining our two guards in new suits of armour, trying to guess who would suit red or green more. Seeing my smile, Anna clicked her tongue, still irked by the idea of having these two being our loyal guards.

We rolled into the castle with the night shadows beginning to fill the courtyard. As the cart rocked to a halt, Nowi's eyes burst open, and realising where she was, scrambled out of the cart and into the castle. Concerned, I followed quickly behind her. Racing up to the doorway, I saw Nowi launch herself onto Tiki, who was walking out of the food hall, minding her own business. Crying and hugging around her middle, Nowi apologised again and again to the confused and flustered manakete girl, who eventually decided to pat Nowi's head gently.

Breathing in relief that she was alright, I returned to the cart to help bring everything inside. I apologised to Lyn and Camilla as soon as I saw them, but they were fine. Lyn was a bit skittish around the fires that night, but everyone else was fine.

Thankfully, nothing happened the next day, so I set about checking on everyone in the castle, devoting every hour to all our summoned heroes.

Bartre woke me up as per usual, pushing me harder in my training because I'd missed a morning. As much as my body protested, I was ok with it all, as I was back into a routine.

Next, I went up to the stables, where Caeda was tending to the pegasi and wyverns there, feeding and washing them. I offered to help, and spent a good while chatting with her as we worked. I once again thanked her for saving me from Niles ages back, as well as all her help in the stables. Caeda, however, began to try and pry information out of me on who I fancied out of all the summoned Heroes, listing the names of Heroes I worked with closely, and those she thought might be a good fit for me. I politely nodded and rebuffed all her suggestions, thinking about all the hassles getting into a relationship with a Hero would cause.

And yet, I nervously remembered how Nowi and Lyn had confessed to me… Don't think about it don't think about it don't think about it don't think about it…

I spent some time with the new Heroes I'd summoned the other night before we were rudely interrupted. Tharja was quiet to most of the other Heroes, keeping to herself, but for whatever reason, she gravitated to me, opening up a bit too quickly for my tastes, a small, satisfied smile at the edge of her face as I learnt far more about her and her dark mage ways than I really wanted to.

For example, did you know there are hexes that force you to only walk backwards, or one that makes you see people inside-out if you say their name?

Wrys, meanwhile, was an open book, already helping out in the kitchen, or wandering out to assist at a nearby orphanage. Despite his age, despite all the burly, powerful Heroes around him, he always kept smiling, at ease with the world. Sharena happily skipped around him, assisting him as he assisted others, drinking in his wise words.

Odin was in the highest balcony of the castle when I found him, shouting out new attack names and phrases for battle, his body moving in a new pose each time. I leaned up against a doorframe and watched, thinking back to when I did that as a kid. And... as a teenager, but I only did that when I was alone!

I stepped out after he'd tried the third variant of his phrase 'Eldritch smackdown!', his fists coming over his head, and then to point out, his movements in time with his words.

"Hoping to join the Ginu Force, are we?" I asked, stepping over to him, arms crossed.

"Ghhaaaa!" Odin cried out, twirling away, arms twisting into a defensive pose, like he was a kung-fu fighter.

"You mustn't sneak up on a master of the dark arts when he is practising unholy command actions!" Odin complained, his arms dropping after recognising me.

"I'll keep that in mind. Say, what's that book you have there?" I said, looking at the open tome by his feet.

Odin quickly snapped it shut. "It is a world of darkness and unbridled might that you, an uninitiated, wouldn't even be able to comprehend!" he explained.

"Oh, but I am initiated, I have mastered level 8 magicks, you see," I said shrugging, going along with his fantasy.

Odin gasped. "You have cracked the seal to reach Nirvanic magics?" He pulled in close, pointing at me. "You lie! I would have sensed the outflow of your power!"

"You would have, had I not shunted my power into another vessel, far, far away from here; in another dimension!"

"Ha, then your power is weakened! You walk into this arena with nothing but words and cloak, while I have mastered the likes of Missletain, Tiething, and Gay-Bowl!" Odin raised a hand, and begun circling me.

"Ha!" I cackled, falling into a character. "Such paltry weapons… I could teach you more, make you more, if you would only listen, and yet you react with violence! Face the might of my eternal mystic power; Machtglanz!" I moved into an attack pose, and had at him, our imaginary bursts of power flying across the balcony, Odin and I rolling and dodging each one, using 'shield' magics when needed.

It wasn't long till we both collapsed to the floor, back to back, panting.

"And you thought I was powerless…!" I muttered.

"I stand corrected; you know many words of might, friend. Your world is truly a place for dark seers to thrive!" Odin agreed.

"Well, if you want a verse of real power, I have one I think you'll like. Come on, up you get, and repeat after me," I said, standing up, putting my hand down to the young man.

We still stood back to back, looking out to the mid-day sun. Closing my eyes, trying to remember the words, I began.

"I am the bone of my sword…" I raised a fist.

"I am the bone of my sword…" Odin repeated, in just as grave tones.

"Steel is my body, and fire is my blood," I continued, with Odin following suit.

"I have created over a thousand blades,

Unknown to death,

Nor know to life,

Have withstood pain to create many weapons,

Yet those hands will never hold anything!

So as I pray,

Unlimited Blade Works!"

We finished together, our eyes opening, out hands spraying open, our purpose clear.

To both our surprise, Odin's Blarblade tome reacted, glowing brightly at his side. When it subsided, Odin exploded.

"Oooh, that was so cool! Where did you learn that chant? Are their others like it?!" He said, literally jumping on the balls of his feet.

I rubbed the back of my head. "It's from a show I used to watch back home. The person who chanted it sounded a bit like you, so I thought you'd like to use it as well," I said shrugging.

"So magnificent!" Odin exclaimed, fists pumping by his side. He looked back to me, grinning. "This was really fun to do, dad!"

I caught on immediately. "Dad…?" I asked slowly.

His lips twitching, Odin drew a word out instead. "Daaad-illion! Pontif of Dimensional magic! Your new title, wear it with pride!" he said, before turning around to grab his things, and scamper for the door down.

"Hey, wait up!" I cried out, running after him.

As Odin began heading inside, he bumped into Lissa, of all people. As I caught up, Odin spun Lissa around, and pushed her in front of me, saying, "Hey, how about the two of you chat and catch up now, huh? Get to know each other, think up some amazing names, plan out your lives! Bye, gotta go!" With that, Odin vanished, as Lissa looked at me, confused. I just shook my head, hands raised.

I then went down to find Nino, and found her and Raigh in the library, learning. As I walked in, I heard Raigh scowl.

"No, no, don't just assume the word because there's a picture!" he scolded.

"Wait, it's not a penguin?" Nino asked, sounding heartbroken.

Raigh grumbled, took a deep breath, and leaned over the book with Nino. He jabbed a finger to a word. "Let's try this again. You sounded the letters out before, which is good, but this time, join them together as you say each letter…"

And together, the two of them spelled out and pronounced the word 'Parrot'. Sighing once the arduous task was over with, Raigh looked up to see me standing over them both.

"I see you haven't changed your lurking ways, Tazio…" Raigh muttered.

"Tazio, hey, Tazio! I can read some words now!" Nino said cheerfully, standing up on her chair, making it wobble.

"Don't stand up on that, you could fall and hurt yourself!" Raigh reacted instantly, righting the seat.

I chuckled at the time-displaced family. "Can you write as well, Nino?" I asked, leaning on my elbows over the desk now.

"Ah-huh!" Nino said proudly, reaching over for some loose parchment and a quill. Dipping the pen into the ink pot, she slowly and carefully put down, in block letters, N-I-N-O.

"My name!" she said proudly up at me. I smiled down at the most precious smile, tussling her hair. I saw Raigh smile as well, but dropped it as soon as he saw me looking.

"Now try doing it with lower and upper-case letters, just like I showed you," Raigh instructed, folding his arms.

Nodding, Nino returned to the paper, sticking her tongue out in concentration as she used the smaller, curving letters this time. After a far greater time, she held her name up to me, and then Raigh.

Nodding, Raigh said, "Now for a challenge. Write up Tazio's name," he instructed.

"Uummm, could you spell it for me?" she asked, holding the pen ready.

I was about to reply, when Raigh held a hand up to me.

"Try sounding it out, and spell it like that,"

"Hmmm…" She looked to the paper, and loudly began drawing each letter as she sounded my name out, one letter at a time.

Unfortunately, she was betrayed by my 'eee' sound replacing the 'I', drawing up 'Tazeo' instead.

"Did I do it right?" she finally asked, dropping the quill.

"Almost," I said with a chuckle, grabbing the quill, and quickly jotting down how to really spell my name.

"Wait, that's not fair, it's an 'I', but it sound's like an 'ee'!" Nino protested.

"It's actually quite right; most times an 'E' is used before an 'o' sound, it will sound more like an 'ehhh', making it 'Tazeho'. Instead, it's just like how the 'I' in your name has an 'ee' sound. Do you understand?" Raigh explained, like a school teacher, his hands behind his back.

"Ooohhh, gotcha. Who taught you how to be so smart with words, Raigh?" Nino asked innocently.

Raigh visibly fidgeted. "Uhhh… well, my mother taught me a lot of the basics… She wasn't taught to read as a child, and didn't want her children to suffer as she did…" He explained quietly, looking at the books covering the table.

"Oh, she must have grown up like me, maybe…" Nino said, nodding. "But, that's a great idea! After you teach me everything on how to read, I'm gonna teach lots of others how to do it too. Maybe I'll teach my children too, one day!"

"Yeah, that would be smart…" Raigh pushed his chair away from the table, head down. He quickly made his way for the exit. "I think we've had enough lessons for today!" He dashed out of the door, leaving us alone.

"Wait, did I do something wrong?" Nino looked up at me anxiously. "Do you think he'll come back? Did I mess up?"

I quickly put a hand to Nino's shoulder. "No, no, it's alright, I think he was just a bit upset because this all reminded him of his mother. He… doesn't have the best relationship with her," I tried to explain.

"Oh no, and I brought that all up…" Nino realised, downcast.

"This whole situation would have made Raigh sad, even if it was someone else in your shoes…" I said.

Nino thought for a moment. "What happened between him and his mother?"

I thought for a long time as well, trying to plan things out as best I could, knowing full well I was interfering with delicate emotional lives. I eventually came up with this; "You should ask him yourself,"

I left the library, and milled about the rest of the castle, talking to any Hero I came across. Everyone seemed happy enough, busying themselves with training, hobbies, or help around the castle. In the end, I came across every Hero, except for one; Matthew.

I waited in the dining hall as dinner was served, and looked up and down all the tables, hoping to see him. But as the night drew to a close, there was no sight of him.

I began to ask around, and finally, I heard from Lyn that she'd seen him head out into the small forest at the back of the castle. I headed that way, preparing a lantern to head into the woods, but was startled to see the spy walking up to the backdoors as I was heading out of them.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and walked down to meet him. He shielded his eyes from the lantern's light. "Where've you been all day?" I asked, hand to my hips.

"Religious day," Matthew replied smoothly, trying to get around me.

"In the forest?" I asked, looking to the dark clump in the far back of the grounds.

"It's how I do it…" he said, leaping up the stairs inside.

I could just see that his eyes were puffy and red, and his cheeks were flushed pink as he went past me.

I vowed to find out what was up with one of my first Heroes, settling to research his story the next day.

Or I would have, if we weren't called away to the World of Birthright.

We headed out at first light, with a new team in tow. I felt like the girls needed a longer rest, and brought with me new Heroes; Merric, Marth, Virion, and Donnel. As I left, I quickly remembered to ask Oboro to begin designing colour coded armour for Wilbur and Ned, which she immediately set to work on. With her muttering away on a sketchbook, I headed out, feeling safe in her hands.

At that, we headed out, and got comfortable with my all male team, chatting away. Marth and Merric stayed close, pointing to passing clouds, and reminiscing about Archaneia. Donnel watched on, awestruck at the living legends before him. He looked down at his torn and frayed clothing, only to glance at Marth's royal finery and practically glowing chest plate.

Virion caught my attention with a card game of strategy he had picked up from a local at an inn, where I attempted to capture as many of his 'cards' as possible. Donnel, after some high praise from Marth for fighting despite his age and upbringing, attempted to watch over the game, but broke off when the tactics and rules were too much.

"You mustn't get too attached to your cards," Virion chided as he collected a bundle of my cards to replenish his army. "To win, loses must also be accepted, as tough as it may be to part with good company," he said as I took one of his Queens.

"He's right, you know," Marth piped in. "As I fled my homeland, I was forced to make a choice between one person being sacrificed, to everyone perishing. Much as I'm free now, I will always bear the loss of Frey till I die," Marth said solemnly.

"Ahh, so you were the tactician _and_ lord during your campaign across Archanea?" Virion asked, curious.

"Hmm, I suppose I was?" Marth realised. "It never really crossed my mind I was doing two jobs at once. I hope that hadn't affected my ability to lead my friends…"

Merric spoke now. "Never! If anything, it made you more considerate, and I, for one, would stop at nothing to fight for you, especially with you at my side!"

"I'm blessed to have friends like you, Merric," Marth said with a smile.

"Our army might never compare to yours, Prince Marth," Alfonse said, turning around.

"Oh, but you easily could!" Marth argued. "You have all of time to draw warriors from, with skills and personalities the likes of which the world has never known coming together!"

"They might arrive, but that doesn't mean they'll fight like your comrades did," Alfonse countered.

"Looking at the bond between the summoner and you, I have a feeling the Heroes would do plenty for you," Marth finished, crossing his arm.

"Ha! I guess Chrom is your descendant!" I laughed as we came up to the twin gateways.

We left Ned and Wilbur with a wave, and made our way through the white and red gateway this time.

Only to arrive in a black-skied, stormy canyon filled with precarious wood and rope bridges. Across from our little island we'd arrived on was a larger land mass that seemed to lead down away from the mountainous canyons we had appeared over. On that sparsely vegetated island were three figures.

A proud samurai in lustrous red armour and spiked, flowing brown hair stepped forward as soon as he saw us, a hand at the hilt of his sword. Beside him was a meek shrine-maiden girl clutching at a staff, and a young man with a long silvery ponytail and half a bow in a single hand. I was confused for a moment at the lack of a bowstring, but was surprised when he notched a bolt of energy with a strand of light coming off of the bow.

"Who are you, and why are you attempting to enter Hoshido?" the red samurai asked, his proud voice carrying across the canyon.

"We believe you have been invaded by an Empire to take control of your realm and it's people!" Alfonse called back. Sharena and I crossed our fingers, hoping this powerful looking fighter hadn't been turned yet.

"What's that, you say? My realm is being controlled by forces from another world? Preposterous!"

There went that idea…

"The Kingdom of Hoshido is protected from invasion by the power of our queen, Mikoto! I'm not sure how you all got to the border, but rest assured…" He drew his katana, electricity crackling along the blade, shooting up into the sky. "My family and I will make sure you leave!"

"Damn, get ready everyone, we're getting a warm welcome from the prince's and princess' of Hoshido!" Anna called out. I edged back behind everyone, and got us all into position.

The battle was short, but fierce. The royals waited for us to come to them before assaulting our position. I was able to coax Hinoka, the red-headed Pegasus mounted princess at our side I hadn't noticed before to come forward, only to be taken down by Virion with his arrows, ripping through the wings, sending her crashing behind her siblings.

Takumi, the younger prince, and Sakura, the youngest princess, came to us via two bridges, only to be picked off by Marth and Merric. I was surprised to see Takumi deftly fire at his attackers a point-blank range with his Fujin Yumi bow, lancing a shot through Marth's shoulder, only to be knocked back by the much more imposing Falchion. Sakura attempted to heal her brother, but was flown away by Merric's Excalibur.

I set Donnel up to intercept Ryoma alongside Sharena and Alfonse, guarding the bridge he sprinted across, his sword sheathed, ready for a samurai's sheath-strike. And here I thought that was something from pop culture…

The peerless samurai jumped, his electrical arc's slashing at Donnel, who braced, managing to take the hit. Guess he was tougher than he looked.

Donnel now jabbed at the sky bound Ryoma, his lance slicing into the man twice in quick succession. Ryoma took the hit, and landed behind Donnel, crouched, only to be assaulted by Sharena and Alfonse this time! The two siblings launched at him, knocking him down, fracturing his armour in their assault. Seeing he was easily beaten, Ryoma quickly retreated back across the bridge, rallying his siblings to him, his lip cut.

"My family, I underestimated the power of these strangers. We must retreat and regroup. For the sake of our people, we cannot let Hoshido fall into the hands of these invaders!" With that, the Hoshidan royals retreated together, Sakura healing everyone as they ran away.

"One of these days, we're gonna beat them first go…" Sharena muttered, lance lying heavy in the ground.

"One of these days…" I agreed, giving her a weak high five by her side.

Our team marched on, meeting each Hoshidan royal in turn as we pushed further into their realm, running into the prickly Takumi and his retainers Hinata and Oboro. The poor kid kept yelling insults at us, taking umbrage at every little word we uttered. Poor guy had one hell of an inferiority complex…

As we found the archer and his retainers, I felt like I saw a figure in the back of the underground cavern we were fighting in, apparently the only way into Hoshido proper. As we battered down Takumi's followers, sending them to retreat as Takumi fell to Marth's blade, the shadowy figure vanished in a puff of smoke.

I vaguely remembered that Kagero was a ninja from Hoshido, and wondered if there were other ninja throughout the region. I started to peel my eyes around the surroundings more carefully from there on.

Next on our conquest through Hoshido was Hinoka and her retainers; Azama and Setsuna, whom I knew well, only by the chaos they'd caused at the castle. Strangely enough, another sky knight flapped beside Hinoka, one of princess Sakura's retainers, Subaki, a preening, vain looking man with well-kept hair and perfectly angled features on his face, looking like a sculpture on Pegasus-back.

We charged into the flower garden Hinoka had chosen for her confrontation with us, funnelling us up to her between twin ponds coated with fallen cherry blossoms. As soon as we were within range, Setsuna charged.

Only to stumble and throw herself headfirst into the closest pond. She emerged with a lily perched on her head, like a little hat. Azama wandered into the battle, his staff crippling poor Merric with some sort of intense chest pain, laughing in delight at the spectacle.

Marth charged in to bat the 'healer' aside as Virion sent out long shots at the distant fliers. Subaki took his leave, heading further into the capital of Shirasagi, possibly to warn Sakura, leaving Hinoka to fend for herself, basically.

I ended up sending Anna in to deal with her, her axe swinging wildly. Hinoka abandoned her Pegasus mid-air, twirling her weapon above her like helicopter blades, slowing her decent before landing before Anna, ready for their tussle.

Anna charged in first, far faster than Hinoka, her axe coming down once, then twice across the shaft of her lance, knocking her back through the lush grass. Hinoka tried to knock Anna away with twin swipes from her brave lance, only to be shouldered in the face, and ended with an axe to the neck.

With the way forward clear, we charged, feeling confident we could take care of the last royals in little time at all! We came to a series of sturdy walls in front of the palace where Alfonse thought Ryoma would be cooped up, defending their queen. Using my vision, I could see Sakura in a box of walls, with Kagero defending her. Outside the box were her retainers, Hana and Subaki, ready to break through the collapsing portions of walls that lead to us.

Things were tricky this time, as the passages to Hanna or Subaki were narrow, forcing our units to attack in a predictable path, and remembering how effective Kagero's poison-tipped daggers were against infantry units, such as all my boys were, I was hesitant to send them in right away.

Merric offered to act as a decoy, reminding me that he was tougher than most other mages, so, I took a gamble, and took him up on his offer.

I prepared, getting Marth to destroy a corner of the box with a single swing of Falchion, while Donnel and Virion readied for their attack on Hana. Merric stepped into the passage, eyes scanning the sky for oncoming daggers.

Everyone moved at once as soon as they heard Marth smashed the wall. Hanna and Subaki each broke through their walls, charging as fast as they could to protect their ward and friend. Virion loosed an arrow into Hana's boot, pinning her, letting Donnel stampede in to run her through with his lance.

Merric, meanwhile, had conjured his Excalibur magic, the blade of air slashing ahead, like an etherial bird of prey, slicing through Subaki, his sapphire blue lance shattering in an instant, and him along with it.

Unfortunately, the large wind attack was easily identifiable over the walls, and Kagero arced her dagger over the wall, the tip, a sickly green tinge, falling right on top of Merric. Merric cried in pain, grasping at his shoulder and the new blade wedged into it. The blade faded away after a moment, but the blood and pus of the wound began seeping wildly as soon as it vanished, making Merric roll his eyes back and collapse to his knees in a silent scream. I had no idea the poison was that bad…

With the retainers dealt with, we broke through the wall as one, with Sharena and Alfonse tending to Merric. Kagero stood with her many blades out at the ready to defend the princess, but Sakura turned her around.

"Kagero, go, now, p-protect my brother!" she pleaded urgently, her violently shaking hands turning Kagero around, pushing her behind her.

"But… princess!" the ninja complained, trying to pull around, only to be stopped and glared at with a teary eyed Sakura.

"I can't normally fight… B-but I will today, for my family, a-and my home!" Despite her stutter, Sakura was determined, and unshakable.

Kagero saw this, nodded, and leapt over the back walls, leaving Sakura to turn and face us, her shrine staff shuddering in her grip, tears covering her eyes, but the toughest, thinnest mouth I'd ever seen on somebody.

Marth walked up to Sakura, and looked down at her. He lay his blade on the grass, and kneeled before her, a little under her eyes now.

"You're an incredibly brave young lady. Your country should be proud to have you; I hope you know that,"

Sakura's lips trembled, but she stayed resolute.

"If it was possible, I would have preferred to have sent you on your way, safe and happy. However, the nature of the Emblian magical contracts forces me to do this. I hope we can meet at another time, in better circumstances," Marth finished, putting a hand to Sakura's shoulders. Sakura nodded, looking blankly past Marth as he gripped his sword once more.

"I'm sorry," he muttered as he ran the blade through the shrine maiden, making her gasp and cough against his shoulder, fading all the while.

"Noooo!" I looked up to see Kagero perched on the wall, her face contorting into horrified anger. She hunched low over the wall and flicked small throwing stars out at us, a little bladed weapon hitting each of us, stinging briefly. I watched as my Heroes each in turn wavered and collapsed to the floor, as I felt my legs go numb as well. Doing nothing to stop myself, I fell, and lost consciousness.

When I awoke, I was sitting up against a wall in a dark room with warm air, and glossy feeling wooden floors. I frantically looked around, my head feeling heavy and sluggish, but the fear-driven adrenaline helped speed me up. I could just make out two figures at my side, struggling awake as well; Marth and Alfonse.

"Ahh, you're awake," a proud voice ran through the hall. I looked for the source, and saw a man kneeling in the centre of the room, tranquil. He raised himself up, drawing his magical blade forth as he did. He whipped it through the air, lightning slashing across the room, the sparks igniting the oil-tipped torches running down the sides of the room, illuminating the dojo like room were sat in.

We all staggered to our feet, wobbly, gripping each others arms, hands on our weapons, looking at Ryoma's Raijinto blade.

"I must apologise for Kagero's treatment of your party, but it was her only option at that point. I'm sure you can understand why she did it, though?" Ryoma asked, crossing his arms as we regained more feeling in our limbs.

"Why didn't she start with that attack?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"I ordered her to only attack with that poison when all else was lost. I was curious to see how far you would go in your conquest of my land. It seems my fears have been realised, and so, Kagero attacked, bringing you all here before me…" Ryoma explained.

"You risked your homeland because you were curious about us?" I asked, agitated.

"Forget it, Tazio. Ryoma often deals in extremes, and can be stubborn to a fault…" Alfonse whispered to me.

I grizzled, and then did a double take, looking around the room for the rest of our comrades. I let my vision take me up into the air, through the roof, and I was able to see behind me into an antechamber. Everyone else was rousing themselves, except Merric, who lay disturbingly still.

I walked over to a wall with scorch marks and small fractures running along it, and tried to peer through a hole. I could see, just, Sharena and Anna staggering up.

"Sharena, Anna, are you all ok?" I called out to them.

"Tazio?" Sharena looked side to side. "Where are you and Alfonse?"

"Behind this wall, look, try and break it down, we'll try and fight off Ryoma on our side!" I tried to instruct them, glancing back at Ryoma as he readied his blade.

"Truly, I'm surprised you made it this far. You've defeated my siblings and some of the best in Hoshido. But now I will stop you, here, at the cost of my own life, if necessary!" Ryoma said, gripping his sword in both hands, holding it by his side, aimed at us three.

"I challenge one of you to single combat!" he roared, looking between Marth and Alfonse. Alfonse tried to step forward, but Marth put his arm across the young man, stopping him.

"I'll keep him occupied; you help the Summoner break through that wall for our reinforcements!" Marth ordered, readying Falchion. It glowed as it healed him, his strength returning faster than the rest of us.

Alfonse nodded, and Marth stepped forward, ready. I returned to my birds-eye view of the castle to try and direct the Heroes that were capable to defend themselves from attacks.

"How will you fare, against the High Prince of Hoshido?" Ryoma cried, running at Marth.

The battle began. I got Donnel ready, blocking the left entrance to ward off Hinata and Saizo, who were running down the passage way, ready to defend their liege, while Anna prepared to face off against Kagero and Oboro on the right passage. Virion had begun launching arrows in a vertical line along the cracked wall, weakening it, allowing Sharena to pummel it with her lance, the tip twisting and digging into any hole big enough. Alfonse slammed his sword down onto the cracks as well, grunting as he tried to free us from the combat arena. Marth held his blade up in front of him, ready to block the first attack.

Ryoma collided with a crackle into the Falchion, blue lines exploding out to scar the floor. Marth shrugged the blade off, keeping his eyes trained on Ryoma, who ran like the wind around the room. Luckily, Marth was fast enough to keep pace with him.

Donnel was blinded by a smoke dagger, the grey haze covering him completely, making him cough and splutter. He was just able to block an attack by Hinata and his ruby sword, his lance holding the middle of the blade off of his face.

Anna ducked and weaved around the daggers of Kagero as she charged at her. She twirled around a line of daggers, her axe whirling with her body. She tried to lop it at Kagero's neck, but she backflipped away. Oboro charged, naginata low, to assault Anna from behind, but a spinning kick into her weapon tumbled her into the floor instead.

Donnel retreated back, his lance guarding the entrance, ready to jab at anyone who came through the smoke. Hinata tried again, his muscles straining as he put all his effort into his full-frontal assault. Donnel smirked, and lanced the wild samurai mid-air as he leaped. The poor Hoshidan briefly struggled to pull himself off the blade before vanishing, leaving Donnel with an angry ninja to deal with.

Marth was putting his all into defending from Ryoma's constant barrage of attacks, the streaking electrical attacks that struck him healing slowly from Falchion's power. Ryoma struck again, leaping high, electricity coming up and down upon Marth, like a lightning strike. This time, however, Marth rolled forward and under Ryoma, thrusting up to catch the prince off-guard.

Ryoma was able to adjust mid-air, twisting sideways into a spin, knocking aside Marth's blade, only to land awkwardly on his shoulder, gasping in pain. Marth, after recovering from the deflection, attacked the prone prince, but Ryoma was able to spin onto his back, feet kicking, his blade swirling around him like a lawn-mowers blade, if it used electricity to cut grass. Marth backed off for a good reason.

Donnel kept his eyes peeled on the doorframe, and jabbed at the blur that jumped through it. There was a roar of pain, and Donnel pulled Saizo through, stuck on his lance, the spear-tip going through his shoulder. Saizo wasn't finished, however, and he began dragging himself down the shaft, knife ready to sink into Donnel. The terrified farm hand instead jerked back, and beat the furious man, his wounded eye blazing open, white and milky, against a wall, once, twice, and a third time before he faded away, letting Donnel breath a sigh of relief.

Anna, meanwhile, was still pursuing Kagero, her axe blade attempting to hack into the lithe ninja time after time, carving air instead. Kagero was out of blades, however, and was being defensive, her arm-knives across her face to catch Anna if she came too close.

Suddenly, Virion rounded the corner, and fired an arrow by Anna's head, and into Kagero's shoulder. She was tossed around by the hit, but twisted back to meet Anna's follow up attack, her wrist-blades rising to block the axe. Only, her wounded arm weakened the block, sending her arm flying back, limp after a single attack. Anna pummelled on the other arm, till Kagero was pushed into a wall, her hand being smacked back into her own face. Seeing her weaken, Anna grasped the last arm, held it against Kagero's large bosom, and slammed the axe into the bare shoulder, making the quiet assassin fade away.

Virion dealt with the struggling Oboro with twin arrow hits, his posture relaxed, his face calm. As much as he liked women, even he was put off by the dark, demonic, scowling face Oboro pulled when she attacked someone.

This left Ryoma as the only Hoshidan left.

He backed himself further into the training room, his shoulder sagging after his fall, Raijinto sparking in his one good hand.

But Ryoma looked far from defeated. In fact, the power coming off of his blade looked more powerful, more intense…

"You have breathed your last!" he shouted, cutting across the short space between him and Marth, lightning covering his jagged armour and hair as he streaked forward in a flash. Raijinto came across Marth once, twice, three then four times, lightning blasting around Marth, sending him rocketing backwards into the wall. He crumpled to the floor, smouldering, Falchion clattering to the floorboards.

"Alfonse, we gotta hurry this up!" I screamed, pulling from my vision to watch the bruised Ryoma set his sights on us now. I tugged at Alfonse's cape, only for him to swivel around, pushing me up into a corner, away from the large crack in the wall. Once we were clear, Sharena barrelled her way through, sending chunks of rocks and concrete spraying, a large portion hailing into Ryoma.

"Tazio? Alfonse?" Sharena barked, looking side to side for us.

"Here," I coughed through the vaporised stone. Alfonse stepped away from me, shrugging rubble off his shoulders.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't hurt either of you, did I?" Sharena asked, rushing over to check the two of us.

Ryoma, meanwhile, had clambered to his feet, and charged at us, roaring.

"I am talking to my _best friend!_ " Sharena turned on Ryoma, looking furious. "You separate us, and then _attack me when I get through?!_ " She calmly stepped into the storm of crashing lightning arcs, lance low, before jabbing it into Ryoma with a deft thrust, catching him before he even came close to hitting her with his blade.

"I thought you were a prince; show some manners!" she said as Ryoma slid off of the lance into the rubble.

Ryoma looked up blankly to the roof, clutching at the hole in his gut.

"Shouldn't he have vanished by now?" I asked, getting concerned.

"Oh no, look what you've done!" A woman's voice complained from the back of the room.

Looking up, we saw a woman with long, deep black hair in a pure white Hoshidan dress walk towards us.

"Queen Mikoto?!" Alfonse exclaimed, making Sharena gasp in surprise.

"Ah, you know of me," the Hoshidan Queen said with a smile as she leaned over her son, using a small staff to heal the wound. "There, all better…" she stepped away as Ryoma's wound closed up in seconds.

"I feel I must apologise on my families' behalf, as my magic was not strong enough to ward off this Emblian Empire. While I and a select few of me retainers have been spared from the contracts that princess employs, my children and my people have not… So again, I am sorry to have failed them, and to all of you who fought valiantly to free my realm, thank you," Mikoto explained, bowing humbly at us.

"It was our honour, your Majesty," Alfonse returned the bow, Sharena copying him. I scrambled to do the same.

"Brother?" Sakura appeared behind Mikoto, and ran up to hug the recovering prince. The other Hoshidan Royals appeared as well, alongside their retainers.

"What?" Ryoma looked at the approaching figures he thought had been slain. "Takumi, Hinoka, Sakura?" He stood up completely, looking back at us from the Order of Heroes. "Why… why do I feel so reinvigorated?" He flexed an arm, and grinned.

"You were under the sway of the Emblian Empire, and by defeating you in combat, that contract was broken," Alfonse explained.

"Is what you say true?" Ryoma asked, wide eyed. "We have been under someone's control?"

"Didn't you see that? I thought it was pretty obvious, but I just went along with you all," Takumi said with a shrug.

Hinoka punched her brother across the shoulder. "I never knew you were such a good actor, lil brother! You faked falling in combat so well, we should have you act in more of our plays!"

Takumi redden immediately and turned away from all of us. "Ok, fine, maybe I was under contract as well…"

"It's all so clear now," Ryoma bowed at us, his arms stiff by his side, his fountain of hair flipping over a shoulder. "You've all saved my kingdom and rescued my retainers, my family, and myself. You have my thanks." He stood up straight and walked over to Alfonse and a newly healed Marth. He offered a hand to both of them. "You also have my apologies for all we put you through, battling on behalf of the true enemy."

"Well, we're sorry we knocked down one of your walls," I said, looking sheepishly at the jagged hole our heroes had made.

"Oh, that's the least of our concerns. In all honesty, we've needed a new doorway!" Ryoma said with a hearty laugh.

"Oh no, one of your comrades is badly poisoned!" Mikoto observed as Anna hefted Merric through the hole, his face pale and his eyes spinning.

"Ahh, that was Kagero… Again, I apologise. Sakura, would you care to…?" Ryoma started to say, but Sakura was already on it.

Marth, fully healed thanks to Falchion, walked over to Sakura as her magic flowed around Merric. She flinched briefly, but held her ground.

"Thank you for healing my friend," Marth began, bending down again. Sakura looked away, looking fearful and teary. "I feel like I should again commend you for your courage. You know, you remind me of someone special from my world. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for a huge sacrifice she made. Your family should be proud of you, as I am of my sister," Marth continued.

He put a hand out to Sakura once she had finished healing Merric. Sakura looked at him, blushed, and gave Marth a quick but powerful hug instead. She pulled away in an instant, held her hands together, and bowed as well. "T-thank you for saving us all!" she stammered before scampering away to hide behind Hinoka.

"Well, we must be heading off, our own World needs protection," Anna said, waving at the Hoshidans as she made her way for the exit.

"Wait, we must repay you with transport back to your home," Mikoto insisted.

We all eagerly agreed, feeling the hike into Hoshido heavily. I desperately wanted Elise back in the party, despite the successes we'd had. We all were guided to some carts and horses, and were guided back to the bottomless canyon by a tactician of Hoshido, Yukimura, a spectacled man with very noticeable stubble. We all caught our breath on the trip, congratulating everyone on the team. Donnel blushed at all the praise for dealing with two retainers all by himself. Merric continued to apologise for falling to the poison dagger, despite my protests that he took one for the team incredibly well as Sharena patted him on the back. Virion offered lavish praise upon Sharena and Anna, while Marth did the same for everyone in equal measure. Alfonse drank up each and every word the future Hero-King uttered, nodding empathically.

We went back through the gateway to find Wilbur doing push-ups with a single hand, counting to an easy one-hundred, as Ned lazed on the driver's seat of the cart, scribbling in a small scroll, glasses pushed onto his face.

"Don't lose all your hair now," I told the sweating Wilbur as I climbed into the cart.

"What do you mean by that?" Wilbur asked as he pushed his hair out of his eyes, climbing up as well.

"Oh, it's just a thing from my World…" I said cheekily, grinning ear to ear.

"Are you referencing things from your World we're not going to understand again?" Alfonse questioned me.

"Maybe…?" I finally admitted.

"Stop that," Al said bluntly.

"Awww…"

Anna quieted us all down, drawing our attention to her as we set off. "Well, I'm sure we've all said it plenty already, but still… Excellent work, everyone. The World of Birthright is liberated once more!"

"I have to admit that I was alarmed when Ryoma shouted about going into single combat… Your assistance was nothing short of legendary, Prince Marth!" Alfonse gushed.

"I was simply lucky, is all. Ryoma was clearly the more adept fighter," Marth said with a smile.

"Maybe. But, thank goodness we were able to work through that wall. We must try to avoid any further attempts to separate us!" Alfonse said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I'll try my best to keep us away from ninja's next time…" I mused, wondering how I could have avoided the trap.

"It was terrible, wasn't it?" Sharena piped in. "When I woke up, with us all split up, I feared we might never see each other again! And… and… I never ever want to feel like that again… Not like with Zacharias…" Sharena pulled her legs to her chest, burying her face into them.

"Agreed, sister…" Alfonse muttered, looking at his sword, eyes glazed.

"Who's… Zachar-?" I started to ask after a moment of silence, only to be interrupted by Anna.

"I've asked you two not to dwell on Zacharias' disappearance. We did the best we could!" She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "But, I suppose we owe an explanation to our friends here…" Anna looked at me directly. "Some time ago, we lost a member of the Order of Heroes whose name was Zacharias," she explained plainly, dryly. "Zacharias _was_ a bold fighter and great comrade. Then one day, he vanished during a battle."

Sharena shrunk even further into her self-made ball.

"We've searched for him, but to no avail…" Anna began to look downcast before she snapped her head up, shaking it angrily. "Bah! Now, before we sink into despair, let's _leave this be_ for now," she said, looking to Alfonse and Sharena. They kept to themselves the rest of the way home. Despite Anna's urging, I couldn't help but feel the sadness overtake everyone…

When we cruised back into the castle, Alfonse and Sharena hoped out last, while the other Heroes made their way for the food hall. I was about to check on them when I heard loud voices coming from the grand hall, so I hurried to check on them instead.

"You fret too much, Caeda," Marth said, frowning, crossing his arms.

"No, I fret the healthy amount, it's the person I'm fretting over who's making me fret too much because he keeps heading into dangerous situations!" Caeda said, jabbing her finger into Marth's breastplate.

"I was asked to join the team for this mission. You know as well as I how important fighting for Askr is, for all these citizens. And besides, if anything had happened to me, I would have returned here, safe and sound," Marth explained, waving his arms around the hall.

"Would you? We don't understand this magic of contracts and summoning completely, so who's to say some situations would end you completely? No, next time, tell the summoner to take me in your place," Caeda said, looking at Marth with daring eyes, her hands to her hips, unwilling to move her stance.

"I'd never do that," Marth said simply.

"Why not?!"

"Imagine how much you fret over me when I leave. Have you imagined it?" He asked. Caeda nodded, frowning. "Multiply that feeling tenfold. That is how much I would worry about you, Caeda, if you took my place. I remember what Tazio described when they went to our World, fighting versions of us. You perished in my arms, and I was distraught. If you were to fall without me there…"

"We share our feelings on the mater then…" Caeda said, tapping her foot, not looking at Marth directly. "That won't change those feelings, however."

I decided to step in at that point.

"Ok, Caeda, Marth, how about we make a deal? If either of you head out, the other can come in the cart, but has to stay with Ned and Wilbur while we fight. If, and only if, the other person falls, we'll let them head straight back to the castle. Does that work?" I asked, rubbing my hands together.

"I'm still not sure if the magic is to be trusted…" Caeda admitted, glancing around the castle.

"The Askr Royals hold it in high regard. If they didn't trust in it, they probably wouldn't be heading out to fight all the time," I told them, thinking on the problem.

Caeda grizzled and ground her teeth, still not sounding convinced.

"And besides, we have another Marth hanging around," I said, trying to be cheerful.

"Oh, yes, a physical reminder that my beloved has perished somewhere…" Caeda said curtly.

"They're still the same guy…" I groaned, hanging my head.

Caeda sighed, holding onto Marth's arm, hugging it tightly to her chest. "Fine, if that's all you can arrange for us, we'll have to make do. But if anything happens to my Marthzipan while he's under your command, well… I know you're an imaginative young man," She said with a smile.

My eyes shrunk back into my face, I'm sure, as my imagination began to play horrible ideas in my head. I didn't even register Marth and Caeda leaving for the food hall.

"Please don't call me Marthzipan ever again …" Marth mumbled.

"Mmmm, certainly, it didn't sound as cute as I thought it would have…" Caeda agreed, disappearing into the hall.

Once I'd shaken the horrors from my consciousness, I thought to check on Alfonse and Sharena. I looked back, and saw they weren't in the cart. I looked around for Anna, but she was in a meeting, apparently.

So, I just ate, drank, and decided to be merry, that night. Odin avoided me completely, blushing profusely if he saw me, while Raigh dodged Nino all night. All the Hoshidan retainers swamped me, asking questions about my time in their homeland. Oboro was almost frantic to hear anything about Prince Takumi, while Azama asked me how many times I'd slain Hinoka.

I checked up on everyone else I could, such as my core team, who all seemed well rested now. I did the rest my little patrol without incident before heading to my chambers, ready to do some writing.

I instead found Alfonse leaning against the wall facing my door, drumming his fingers along his arm.

"Al?"

He looked up, a little surprised, but also relieved.

"Tazio, I wondered when you were going to show up. I worried you'd been waylaid by another female Hero," he said, cracking a rare grin.

"That's not funny…" I said, making for my door to spite him.

"Wait, wait, sorry, I was nervous, I didn't mean it…" Aflonse said, stepping forward to try and stop me.

"Ok, what's up then?" I said, turning from my door, crossing my arms.

"I…" Alfonse kept his eyes to the floor. "I want to know if I'm being of use in the Order of Heroes, to you and Commander Anna…"

"What? That's a stupid question, of course you're helpful! I wouldn't know any of the Heroes we came up against without you," I said, truthfully. I tried to imagine a fight without the Askrian prince, and only saw disaster.

"But, besides my knowledge, am I of help on the battlefield?" Alfonse tried again.

I stopped to think for a moment. "Of course you are, man. You're my right-hand man, the guy I can depend on in a pinch. Why would you think otherwise?"

"Well… I joined the Order of Heroes because of Zacharias, ignoring several of my princely duties in doing so. The general populace wasn't particularly happy when they heard the news, and even now, a lot of the town's folk dismiss me as a foolish, adventure seeker…"

"Well, you joined because you wanted to help the people, right?" I asked.

"Yes! Zacharias showed me how much good his actions did as a Hero in the Order, even if the average person never saw what he accomplished. He fought to do so much good in this world, for no compensation on his behalf, and... I wanted to be like him so desperately, so I joined as soon as I could! I'm sure Sharena joined for a similar reason…"

"Well, with all that in mind, what's your problem? You're fighting for the people as an Order member,"

"But would I be more useful as a Prince in the court, trying my hand at more political attempts to stop Veronica?" he asked, pleading for an answer.

"Ok, ask yourself this; if you were in court, what could you offer them with your knowledge of all the Heroes and their stories? What could you years of time on the battlefield do to help a bunch of old people argue? How could you leave the Order a man down, one of our leaders, no less, to sit and look over papers and failed letters to Embla?" I said, gesturing at each question, till I guided both of my hands over Alfonse, as if asking for my answer.

"I, er, I would…" Alfonse struggled.

"You'd be useless, that's what you'd do!" I answered for him, springing my arms over my head. "You're doing the best you can here, Al. Got that?"

"I-I suppose you're right, aren't you?" Alfonse gave a weak smile. "You really are a master tactician, aren't you?"

"Haha, and you're just another piece on my game board!" I said poking the young man. He fended me off with waves of his hands, laughing.

"We'd be truly lost without you, I hope you realise that," Alfonse said after his giggles.

"Nah, you've got Commander Anna, I'm sure you'd be fine for a few days!" I said, grinning.

We made our goodnights, and I entered my room, ready to write, hoping for a little bit of peace and quiet for the next few days.

But knowing the Empire, it won't be long before we're back out beating up whole armies.

I don't think I have any closing thoughts tonight. Everything was pretty cut and dry from what I saw. I guess I'm a little concerned about Sharena, but I'll talk to her, and Anna as well, tomorrow.

Oh, and hopefully Oboro will have the new armour for Wilbur and Ned!

So, till next time!


End file.
